The Column – Market Insights
There is a sector of the world and Italian economy that is booming: that of “live” concerts. Think about it Annual paying spectators have doubled from 2010 (16m people) to 2025 (almost 31.5m) and for the current year it will land close to 33m attendance, a historical record.
The relative turnover fared even better, given that the increase in ticket prices was much greater than inflation, and will affect the 1.2 billion euros in 2026.
The data tells us about 75,000 people employed full time in the sector which becomes 300,000 if we calculate those who work on a seasonal or non-continuous level. The more revenue generated.
A amazing success linked to various factors which have favored this phenomenon in the last 10-15 years:
➢ the growth of the “experiences” market which is very linked to generational change with young people who prefer to live experiences, such as concerts, rather than spend money on material goods.
➢ theincrease in the offer and type of events with the development of already existing festivals that have become iconic (Umbria Jazz has 45,000 paying spectators but brings almost half a million people to Perugia, I-Days Milan brought the legendary David Guetta to Italy and has 250,000 spectators, Lucca Summer Festival over 100,000) and the birth of others, often dedicated to single musical genres (Kappa Music Festival, Firenze Rocks, Decibel Open Air, La Prima Estate).
➢ the construction of suitable places which are essential to broaden the market and to have the best possible experience from the point of view of the quality of the event and logistics. The RCF arena in Campovolo which holds up to 100,000 spectators per event is an excellent example for outdoor structures, while the brand new Unipol Dome Arena in Milan Santa Giulia (capacity of 16,000) is on the closed structures side.
➢ it development of musical tourism which has literally exploded, in the wake of all types of “themed” tourism. Whether it is Italians passionate about the theme or foreigners who sometimes come to our country just to attend a concert or a festival, the numbers are impressive and the related activities generated are extremely significant (11m overnight stays, over 4 billion euros in turnover).
I believe that those who read me are always interested in numbers so here are some others:
➢ Concert with the most paying spectators in history: on 4 July 2026 in Tor Vergata, Rome, Last (born Niccolò Moriconi, 30 years old) sold 250,332 tickets (pulverized in one morning of pre-sale) for a taking of close to 16m euros, beating the previous record held by Vasco Rossi. An amazing success that the singer is replicating at the cinema with the docufilm on the event and which today is a world record.
➢ Free concert with the most spectators in the world: an ex-equo between Rod Stewart (Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, 1994) and Jean-Michel Jarre (Moscow, 1997) with around 3.5m of people present.
➢ Most successful musical tour ever: Coldplay, Music of the Spheres World Tour, 2022-2026, 13.2m paying viewers beating Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour10.2m, but over a much shorter time span (2023-24). However, if we measure at the turnover level the order is reversed and the American singer, given the cost of the tickets, wins with 2 billion against 1.5.
➢ Italian artist who brought the most people to his concerts: Vasco Rossi who, with more than 850 concerts behind him, is estimated to have had a total of 14m fans cheering him on in stadiums, arenas and arenas. Claudio Baglioni second, Jovanotti sixth.
Are there companies in the sector in which it is possible to invest? Not in Italy, but if we go abroad there are some listed companies. Here are three of them, one for each main continent, very different from each other, even in size:
➢ Live Nation Entertainment: American, global giant listed in the USA, owner of Ticketmaster and many arenas and festivals around the world. 27 billion in turnover (23b euros) and 40 billion dollars in market cap. It has grown disproportionately and frankly with astronomical valuations today (EV/Ebitda above 25) and also linked to its situation of almost monopoly on the US side and a very strong financial structure (debt financed with the enormous growth underway).
➢ CTS Eventim AG: German, another giant in the sector, owner of Ticketone and similarly to the previous manager of arenas and festivals. 3 billion in turnover and a market cap close to 5 billion euros. Much lower valuations also because it is listed in Europe. More conservative/solid business structure.
➢ PIA Corporation: Japanese, small company (the equivalent of 220m euros of market cap and around 350m of turnover), the founder has always been the reference shareholder together with the large 7-eleven stores; is the country’s leading concert ticketing agency. Like many small companies in Japan, it is managed in an extremely prudent manner, with a lot of cash and consequently low valuations (5.5 as Ev/Ebitda).
