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Envision finding yourself with a night off. You are rejuvenated, open to experience, and looking to break from your typical schedule of post-work slumping. Your options offers possibilities! Would you opt for a) seeing live music or b) being with a partner? The outcome, as frequently true with these sorts of hypotheticals, is plainly: “It varies.” Mature individuals may reasonably inquire: what kind of the gig? Who is the other person? Is it expected to be enjoyable?

Hardly anyone would pick a Limp Bizkit/Slipknot/Korn triple bill if the other option was a magical night with a favorite star. Yet change any part of the comparison, and it becomes less obvious. For the thousands surveyed asked this question by a live event company, no additional context was offered – and the answer emerged decisively and strongly supporting live music events.

Study Data Reveal Surprising Preferences

A global report, questioning a large sample from 18 and 54 across multiple countries, found that gigs have become the world’s top leisure activity, ranking above games, films and – yes – sex. When limited to one type of enjoyment permanently, 39% of respondents selected concerts, against film attendance (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). Participants were significantly more as likely to choose seeing their favourite artist live (70%) over sex (30%).

You show up hopeful of being happily shocked – and regularly you might find with a stranger's hair in your mouth

Perspectives and Analysis

Of course it’s not surprising that a marketing research conducted for a concert promoter might conclude so strongly in favour of concerts – and, amid the playful tone of a either-or question, if your top performer is, such as a legendary singer, you can see why attending his concert could prevail rather than a common or garden encounter. However this two-option scenario between gigs or sex, obviously silly as it is, is fascinating to consider amid the peculiar moment we experience with both.

The Transformation of Concert Culture

Over the past few years, concert attendance has evolved into more than a group event but a serious endeavor. Live organizations appropriately highlight that stadium attendance has “grown significantly annually”, and live events sell out quicker than before. Merely acquiring passes now requires military-level planning, quick decision-making and bottomless pockets (or a high spending capacity). Although you’re successful, it’s not enough to simply turn up and enjoy the show. Currently there is an assumption, particularly with concertgoers, that you could increase your return on investment by seeing several shows (including overseas trips), studying the performance lineup ahead of time and understanding the rituals to follow and calls-and-responses developed through earlier audiences.

Several attendees report feeling affected by their participation at large concerts: what seemed like a scripted production of massive crowds, in which particular fans came not knowing the routine. Those lengthy concert series, generating billions, demonstrated of the lengths to which fans will travel to feel part of a historic occasion and experience their top musician perform, even if the live sound seems increasingly less important than the spectacle.

The Condition of Contemporary Sexuality

Sex, on the other hand – an accessible and accessible pleasure – faces dire straits. Based on recent surveys, about a quarter of people had sex in an average week, while nearly 30% were sexually inactive. In another major country, current statistics revealed that a significant portion of adults admitted to avoiding sexual activity a single time in the past year, increasing from lower numbers in previous decades. In both territories, the trend has been attributed to reduced intimacy in youth demographics. Compare this with the industry expanding rapidly for large concerts and the fierce battle for admissions. Naturally it isn't straightforward as a basic option between one or the other – “do you prefer see a major tour repeatedly, or avoid intimacy?” – but it's possibly an indication of how people see the more consistent pleasure.

Interesting Comparisons

Sex and live music are more similar than you might think. Each symbolizes the activation of a relationship, a real-world test of expectations or promise that could have built only in your head. You arrive with a basic expectation of the probable outcome, but hopeful of being pleasantly surprised – and whether it proves enjoyable or disappointing depends very much on whether your energy and hopes correspond with partners. Regularly you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth, and following be hanging out for a cigarette and some quiet time by yourself. Likewise with either, drugs and alcohol can sometimes improve or reduce the situation (but definitely make the most unpleasant situations more bearable).

Finding the Balance

The magic to both gigs and sex hinges on locating that hard-to-find balance between the known and the new, similarity and difference, effort and ease. Naturally it happens only rarely – but it's the recollection of when they did, the awareness that success is achievable, that motivates us to give it another shot: to {