Does opening major tours help emerging artists? Yes and No
Conventional wisdom is that the best way for a new act to build an audience is to open for a superstar. But the boost that a emerging artist gets when opening a major tour is not guaranteed.
Does opening major tours help emerging artists?
“There’s often a perception that opening for a major headliner is a guaranteed career boost for emerging artists—but the reality is far more complex,” says study author Jeff Apruzzese from Drexel University. “There hasn’t been much research into how accurate that conventional wisdom really is. This research aims to unpack some of the less visible dynamics in the music industry—especially those that shape the career paths of rising artists.”
“The Taylor Swift Effect”
Emerging artists saw streaming spikes of up to 188% when opening a major tour, followed by steep post-tour drop-offs.
Prior to a tour, artists labeled as “developing” by music analytics leader Chartmetric saw streams jump about 18% before and during tours and a 6% drop post-tour.
Owenn, a former Taylor Swift backup dancer, saw streams drop 75% after their tour ended despite initially getting a massive 188% jump while on the road.
There is much more stable engagement hen established acts like Phoebe Bridgers – who opened some shows for Swift – tour with major artists.
New Live Music Fans
Being part of a major tour has a more positive impact when the opener tours on their own.
68% of survey respondents said they had discovered new bands who were opening acts. About 50% had later purchased tickets to see an opening act when they returned to the area as a headliner.
81% of ticket buyers say they arrive early enough to see opening acts perform. 39% considered the openers when buying tickets.
Download a pdf of “Did You Catch The Opener?…Exploring the Transformative Dynamics of Opening Performances: A Quantitative Analysis on Streaming for Emerging Artists” report here.
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of the Skyline Artists Agency
