An Evening to Treasure: Is Live Music Truly Chosen Over Sex?

Picture being gifted with a night off. You feel rejuvenated, open to experience, and wanting to change your usual routine of post-work slumping. Your options is your oyster! Would you choose a) going to a gig or b) being with a partner? The outcome, as typically seen with these types of queries, is clearly: “It varies.” Reasonable people could understandably ask: what kind of the concert? With whom is the partner? Could it be likely to be enjoyable?

Hardly anyone would pick a heavy metal lineup if the choice was a dream date with a beloved celebrity. But adjust any part of the equation, and it becomes less obvious. For the participants presented with this choice through a live event company, no such context was provided – and the result came out decisively and overwhelmingly supporting concerts.

Study Data Show Interesting Trends

A global report, interviewing a large sample aged between 18 and 54 from 15 markets, revealed that live music have become the most popular form of entertainment, beating out games, films and – absolutely – sexual intercourse. Given the choice to a single form of activity permanently, nearly four in ten chose live music, compared to watching movies (17%) and sports events (14%). They were also more than twice as likely to choose seeing their favourite artist on stage (70%) rather than intimacy (30%).

You arrive hopeful of being happily shocked – and quite often you might find with another person's locks in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Naturally it makes sense that a promotional study commissioned by a gig organizer would result so strongly supporting live shows – and, amid the playful tone of a either-or question, if your top performer is, for example Paul McCartney, it's understandable why attending his concert could prevail over a routine encounter. However this binary choice between live music or sex, obviously silly though it may be, is interesting to think about amid the peculiar moment we face with both.

The Change of Concert Culture

In recent years, live music participation has grown beyond a communal experience but a competitive sport. Live organizations duly point out that arena crowds has “grown significantly each year”, and live events are fully reserved more rapidly than previously. Just obtaining passes now demands detailed strategy, instant reactions and deep finances (or a generous credit card limit). Although you succeed, it isn't sufficient to merely attend and enjoy the show. Nowadays exists an anticipation, at least among concertgoers, that you might enhance your return on investment by seeing several shows (including overseas trips), learning the song selection ahead of time and understanding the rituals to hit and audience interactions created by previous crowds.

Numerous attendees report feeling scarred by their participation at large concerts: what felt like a orchestrated show of thousands of people, where some individuals arrived unfamiliar with the protocol. That 18-month concert series, producing huge revenue, was proof of the extents that people will go to participate in a historic occasion and watch their preferred performer perform, although the live sound grows somewhat less important than the show.

The Situation of Modern Intimacy

Sexual activity, on the other hand – a relatively cheap and accessible pleasure – experiences dire straits. According to contemporary studies, about a quarter of individuals had sex in an regular period, while about three in ten were abstaining. In a different nation, current statistics showed that over a quarter of adults reported not having sex at all in the past year, increasing from smaller percentages in earlier years. Across these regions, the trend has been associated with less sexual activity among younger people. Juxtapose this with the sector driving growth for large concerts and the fierce battle for passes. Certainly it isn't straightforward as a basic option between both alternatives – “could you choose experience a popular event often, or stay celibate?” – but it might be an indication of what is viewed as the more reliable enjoyment.

Surprising Parallels

Intimacy and concerts are more similar than you might think. Each symbolizes the commencement of a relationship, a practical trial of ideas or potential that may have developed solely in your imagination. You show up with some idea of what might happen, but expecting to be pleasantly surprised – and whether it proves satisfying or frustrating depends very much on whether your energy and expectations match theirs. Regularly you could wind up with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and later be lingering for a cigarette and personal space alone. Likewise with either, stimulants and beverages can sometimes improve or lessen the event (but certainly help the most unpleasant situations more bearable).

Finding the Balance

The magic to concerts and intimacy hinges on finding that hard-to-find balance between familiarity and novelty, consistency and change, challenge and comfort. Naturally it occurs infrequently – but it's the recollection of when they did, the knowledge that it’s possible, that drives us to attempt once more: to {