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Summary of our market study
In France, the live-performance ticketing market is worth over €900 million.
The live entertainment market in France, while concentrated in terms of sales and attendance, is highly fragmented in terms of number of performances and jobs.the top 50 shows accounted for 33% of admissions and over 55% of box-office receipts, while 6% of shows accounted for almost half of admissions and two-thirds of receipts.
In 2020, the sector experienced a significant downturn, with a drop of around 32% in the number of salaried employees and around 15% in the number of trading companies, due to the health crisis.
The market is mature, with limited growth potential due to inelastic demand, and is geographically concentrated, with the Ile-de-France region playing a predominant role.
The sector comprises a diverse range of players, from public entities to private organizations and technical service companies.
Younger age groups, particularly those aged 15-34, are more likely to attend live events than those over 65.
A significant percentage of the population attends at least one live show a year.
Large integrated players involved in several or all stages of the live performance value chain, such as Live Nation, sit alongside alarge number of smaller entities, including independent venues, second-tier festivals and a wide range of technical support companies.
Concerts in genres such as rap, hip-hop and rock attract on average more spectators than other categories.
Major integrated players in live entertainment in France
- Live Nation is a global giant in the industry, managing everything from tour organization to ticket sales.
- STAGE Entertainment Pioneers in venue management and production
- Lagardère Group
- Fimalac Entertainment, S Pass, Gérard Drouot Production, specialized in the production and organization of live events.
Cultural conglomerates and music majors
- Vivendi
- Warner Music
- Sony Music Entertainment
Ticketing pioneers
- FNAC Darty and Ticketmaster (a subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment) have acquired a dominant position.
- Digitick, although smaller in size, has also established itself as a key player in the ticketing market.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Market definition and key figures
Live performance, often referred to as the performing arts, refers to any form of entertainment presented to a live audience, in a variety of venues such as theaters, concert halls or even outdoors. This category includes a wide variety of artistic disciplines and performances, such as theater, dance, music, opera, circus, magic and street arts. The main characteristics of live performance are the real-time interaction between artists and audiences, and the ephemeral nature of performances, which exist only for the moment of their execution.
The live entertainment market in France is structured around the production and distribution of live shows. This market covers a variety of segments (comedy, song, opera, instrumental music, theater, circus, etc.) which, while they do not necessarily share the same customers (the same audience), do share, at least for the most part, the same values.while they don't necessarily share the same customers (the same audience), they do share, at least in part, the same production resources (venues, lighting, sound and set design, make-up, security, ticketing, advertising and promotion, entertainment workers, production, staging).
The live performance business involves a large number of players, with very different roles and sizes. While some very large operators, such as Live Nation or Stage Entertainment, cover the entire value chain, there are many smaller players focused on a specific link in the chain: venue managers, record majors, ticketing operators, production companies. Above all, this market relies on a vast, highly fragmented economic fabric, grouping together independent venues, festivals, technical assistance methese include independent venues, festivals, technical assistance companies, intermittent workers and groups of intermittent workers, artists, stage directors, security companies and more.
We note in particular that 6% of performances account for 49% of admissions and 65% of box-office receipts. Conversely, 60% of performances are given in small venues with fewer than 200 admissions, and account for 5% of box-office receipts. As a result, while this market may appear concentrated in terms of box-office receipts and admissions, it is absolutely atomized in terms of the number of performances and jobs.
Performances are also geographically concentrated in France, with the Ile-de-France region and Paris in particular occupying a predominant position, both in terms of number of performances and attendance, and in terms of box-office receipts.
In 2023, the Ministry of Culture estimated that the level of performing arts activity had increased by 19% between 2023 and 2022, to reach 1.99 billion euros in revenues, and recorded a 31% increase in revenues compared to the pre-covid period of 2019. In 2022, there were over 200,000 live performances, attracting 53 million spectators.
1.2 The European live performance market
In ****, the European live performance market was estimated at **.* billion euros, with very strong growth of +**.*% over the ****-**** period. The sector was severely impacted by the covid pandemic, and by ****, the European cultural and creative economyeuropean cultural and creative economy, which includes architecture, books, cinema, music, audiovisual, press, radio, video ...
1.3 The French live entertainment market is growing strongly
The live entertainment market experienced difficult times in **** and **** with the health crisis. However, the year **** marked a significant recovery from this terrible period.
In ****, the French Ministry of Culture estimated that the level of live performance activity had increased by **% between **** and **** (***), and recorded a **% increase in revenues compared to ...
1.4 The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the live entertainment market
The Syndicat national du spectacle musical et de variété (***) predicts that the live entertainment sector will be hard hit by the crisis at the start of ****. Indeed, in the event of no shows being able to resume before January ****, the union estimates that the sector will lose *.* billion euros in ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Household consumption of leisure and culture
In ****, household consumption of cultural services will be worth ***.*** billion euros. Within this broad category is a sub-category of particular interest to us: "cultural services". This sub-category includes "Cinema, live shows, museums, audiovisual subscriptions, photo printing developments, etc.". [***] The latter represents the *th largest item of expenditure on leisure and culture ...
2.2 Consumption of live shows
A survey conducted by Harris Interactive for the French Ministry of Culture in December **** reports on the behavior of the French towards live performances. It also takes into account music, theater and comedy festivals. In ****, **% of French people said they attended a live performance once a year, excluding festivals. Music concerts ...
2.3 Demand strongly dependent on cultural capital
a survey carried out by Ifop in June **** informs us of the willingness of the French to attend live shows in the coming months, and highlights a greater appetite among socio-professional categories to go to live shows.
Do you intend to attend a music or theater festival and/or concerts and/or ...
2.4 The importance of the environment for French spectators
At a time when environmental protection and the fight against global warming have become crucial issues in recent years, the contribution of the entertainment sector to this cause is increasingly being questioned. As in the previous year, a significant majority of French people consider the commitment of shows and festivals to ...
3 Market structure
3.1 The different types of players in the sector
There are many different types of player in the live performance market:
Public players: either the State or local authorities. In ****, public spending accounted for **.*% of total performing arts sales in France. Performing arts companies, whether specialized in this field or integrated players present at different stages of the value chain. ...
3.2 Employment in the performing arts
In ****, the live performance sector employed more than ***,*** people, the vast majority of them working for live performance companies, and more than *,*** authors or content creators.
Workforce in the cultural and creative industries France, ****, in thousands and as a % of total Source: ****
Source: ****
In ****, there were over **,*** companies in France specializing ...
3.3 Sector concentration
In ****, the Centre National de la Musique has published a report on the activity of musical and variety shows. However, given the complicated context of **** and **** for the sector, which does not reflect the current situation in light of the lifting of restrictions, this same report is based mainly on **** to ...
3.4 The different venues and their characteristics
Venues more geared to pop or variety concerts:
Source: ****
More classic venues :
Source: ****
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Offer typology
There is a very wide range of live performances, from a contemporary music concert to an opera performance, a festival, a play or a comedy show.
Breakdown of paid performances by type France, ****, in % Source: ****
Rap, hip hop, reggae shows or electronic music and pop rock concerts are the types of ...
4.2 Overview of prices and costs
Prices vary widely according to the type of performance: the average price ranges from €** for jazz, blues and improvised music to €** for cabaret.
Average ticket price excluding tax per paid admission France, ****, in Source: ****
Live performance costs
For any show, we need to calculate its production cost (***).
> Production costs
Many ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Regulations for entertainment companies
This entire section is taken directly from the Guide des obligations socialesissued by the French Ministry of Culture. All legal obligations are listed in this guide.
"There are several legal obligations for entertainment contractors. They are summarized below:
You must register your company with URSSAF Hold an entertainment contractor's license, ...
5.2 Show regulations
"Prior to the start of a show, a number of formalities must be completed:
Declaration prior to hiring employees Application for an object number Drawing up an employment contract Check that the employee is in possession of a medical fitness certificate less than two years old, issued by the occupational medicine ...
5.3 Obligations of the show entrepreneur
"The show entrepreneur must also ensure in particular :
Payment of intellectual property rights (***) Use a ticketing system that complies with the relevant standards and is subject to : VAT at the reduced rate of *.*%, in particular for theater, song and poetry shows, circuses, concerts, variety shows (***), choreographic or lyrical shows, with ticket ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Segmentation
As we have seen, the live performance market is concentrated in terms of revenues and admissions, but absolutely atomized in terms of the number of performances and jobs.
The most important players, in terms of size and sales, are :
Integrated players in the live entertainment sector, covering the entire value chain, ...
- Live Nation France
- Fimalac Entertainment
- Lagardère groupe
- Vivendi
- Gérard Drouot Production
- STAGE Entertainment
- Warner Music Group
- Sony Music Entertainment France
- Ticketmaster France
- Digitick (Vivendi)
- AEG Anschutz
- L’Olympia
- Accor Arena (Accor groupe)
- Le Lido Cabaret (Accor groupe)
- Le Cirque du Soleil
- France Galop
- Decibel Production (Warner Group)
- Movinmotion
- Angers Nantes Opéra
List of charts presented in this market study
- Percentage of the population attending a live performance at least once a year
- Percentage of the population attending a live show at least once a year
- Percentage of the population attending a theatrical, operatic or classical music performance at least once a year
- Percentage of the population attending a live performance at least once a year, by age group
- Reasons for going to a live performance
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Latest news
Sony aims to consolidate its presence in webtoons and digital manga - 13/05/2024
- - Proposed purchase of Infocom by Sony Music Entertainment: $1.3 billion.
- - Infocom owns Mecha Comics, a manga and webtoon distribution platform
- - Mecha Comics revenues for last fiscal year: 340 million euros.
- - Japanese manga publishing sales in 2022: 677 billion yen (4.3 billion euros).
- - Sales of digital manga in 2022: 447.9 billion yen (2.8 billion euros).
- - Paper manga sales in 2022: 175.4 billion yen (1.1 billion euros).
France Galop aims to revive horse racing. - 27/03/2024
- - Increase in the number of racehorse owners: +600 over the last three years to 5,800.
- - Number of spectators at France Galop's five racecourses: 400,000 last year, up 6%.
- - PMU sales: 10 billion euros, of which 7 billion generated by horse betting.
- - Number of PMU points: 14,000.
- - Economic sector: 10,000 direct jobs in the gallop racing industry, 233 racecourses in France, compared with 55 in the UK.
Decibel Production: Pierre-Alexandre Vertadier ahead of the music - 06/03/2024
- Décibels Productions is a subsidiary of Warner Music, headed by Pierre-Alexandre Vertadier.
- Décibels Productions celebrated its tenth anniversary.
- Décibels Productions has welcomed 13 million spectators and produced over 10,000 concerts, including 1,200 at the Zenith.
- The company has hired 5,000 intermittents and created 300 shows.
- In 2023, the company will expand internationally by acquiring Les Visiteurs du Soir.
- 18 employees.
Behind ACDC's return to France is Gérard Drouot Productions GDP, a show producer for 38 years - 24/02/2024
- - AC/DC have sold over 200 million copies of their 20 albums worldwide.
- - The musical event organized by AC/DC on August 13 at the Hippodrome Paris-Longchamp will sell 80,000 tickets at prices ranging from 111.50 to 166.50 euros.
- - Gérard Drouot Productions (GPD), the company organizing this event, also stages 500 to 600 concerts a year for 100 to 120 artists.
- - Since its creation in 1986, GPD has produced 700 artists.
- - GDP has a team of 37 employees.
- - International artists account for 80-90% of GDP's catalog.
- - In 2023, GDP recorded sales of over 70 million euros
- - The "Heavy Week-End" event, organized by Matthieu Drouot, will be held in a 25,000-seat amphitheater.
ParisLongchamp, increasingly popular with professionals and the cultural world - 20/02/2024
- - The venue hosted the Solidays festival with 260,000 spectators.
- - The French leg of the American festival Lollapalooza drew 170,000 fans over 3 days.
- - The site's lawn can accommodate over 80,000 people.
- - In 2023, the racecourse was open to the public for 164 days.
- - ParisLongchamp organizes 27 race days a year.
- - In 2023, company-initiated events generated a record 326 operating days, up 17% on 2022.
- - Paris-Longchamp alone accounted for 58% of the 564 non-racing event days organized at France Galop's five racecourses.
- - The 2023 season attracted 160,600 spectators on race days.
- - Pre-sales on the new France Galop Live ticketing site accounted for 87% of admissions.
- - For 2024, the outlook for bookings of racecourse facilities in the first half of the year is very encouraging.
Music: billions in the concert business - 04/01/2024
- Taylor Swift has booked 149 concerts in 20 countries up to December 2024.
- The singer is set to become the first music star to break the billion-dollar barrier
- Before Covid, live music generated $21.5 billion worldwide.
- By 2023, live music revenues are expected to exceed $28 billion, according to Goldman Sachs.
- Live Nation, the world leader in the concert business, holds over 75% of worldwide ticket sales via its Ticketmaster platform.
- In one year, Live Nation sold almost 120 million tickets worldwide.
- The group can fill the equivalent of 1500 Stade de France with these ticket sales.
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