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To better understand live music events, Martijn Mulder and Erik Hitters consider whether the motivation behind attending concerts differs from festivals.

"Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity (…) You'd better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because that's really the only unique situation that's going to be left. It's terribly exciting. But on the other hand it doesn't matter if you think it's exciting or not; it's what's going to happen." (David Bowie in Pareles, 2002)

In a famous interview in The New York Times in June 2002, David Bowie predicted the era of streaming and live music. His prediction became reality: Spotify, YouTube and other streaming services turned music into running water while simultaneously the growth of the live music industry accelerated. This is specifically the case in popular music,1 the focus of this study. In their annual review for 2019, Live Nation (the largest global live music company; predominantly popular music) reported the ninth consecutive year of growth, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 7% and the total concert attendance (for Live Nation shows) up 5% to 98 Million (Live Nation, 2020)... Keep reading on Taylor & Francis Online.