The concert economy remains booming, and fans are generous yet cautious in their spending

Singaporean singer JJ Lin kicked off his Beijing tour on June 27th. A week before the concert, a large number of die-hard fans braved the scorching heat and gathered from all directions at the SMG (a trendy brand founded by JJ Lin) pop-up store in Raffles City, Beijing. They queued for hours just to buy a T-shirt or bag of the same style that their idol had worn before.

Lianhe Zaobao saw at Raffles City that the entrance of the SMG pop-up store on the first floor of the mall had been crowded with people for several consecutive days. The queue of people buying products related to JJ Lin stretched from the store entrance all the way to the adjacent office building. Many fans queuing up were fully dressed in merchandise related to the artist, and some young people were dragging suitcases while queuing. It seemed that they had come from other places.

When a well-known artist like JJ Lin holds a concert, it not only attracts fans to spend a lot of money on peripheral products, but also drives fans to travel across cities to watch the performance and follow the star, expanding the economic effect of the concert from multiple aspects.

Wang Fengxi, 31, a catering professional, traveled all the way from Nanjing to Beijing just to watch a concert by JJ Lin. For this, she bought the most expensive front-row ticket at 1,880 yuan (RMB), which was also her largest single expense this year.

Wang Fengxi said in an interview that doing so not only supported his idol but also gave him a rare emotional experience, "Of course it's worth it." She said, "In the familiar melody and lyrics, I was instantly transported back to the most beautiful memories of my college days."

Dong Qi, a 33-year-old salesperson, is also a die-hard fan of JJ Lin. She told our newspaper that she spent a total of 2,680 yuan on tickets for two JJ Lin concerts, of which 1,000 yuan was spent on buying better seats from scalpers because she failed to get the seats she liked. She said that going to a concert to chase after her idols was not only to witness their charm with her own eyes, but also to relieve her emotions and "be herself for once".

Dong Qi said that apart from the daily work pressure, she also has to deal with many trivial matters in life. "I am a daughter, a lover and a mother, taking on different roles." Only at the concert am I myself.

Die-hard fans like Wang Fengxi and Dong Qi, who generously support their idols, have sustained the increasingly booming concert economy in the past two years. Data from the China Association of Performing Arts shows that the box office of large-scale concerts across the country exceeded 26 billion yuan in 2024, representing a year-on-year growth of 78.1%. The number of audience members exceeded 29 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 45%.

In 2025, concerts across China will continue to thrive. According to statistics from the Daolue Music Industry Research Center, the number of large-scale concerts in the first quarter of this year increased by 7.3% year-on-year, with a total of 536 performances, among which 222 were held in the East China region.

The huge economic benefits brought by concerts are regarded by many cities as a solution to boost consumption. Local governments have been easing restrictions on concert approval one after another, and even offering real financial subsidies to attract more well-known artists and singers to perform and compete for the "young traffic" from all over the country.

In April this year, Sichuan Province announced that it would offer up to 5 million yuan in incentives to the organizing units that introduce large-scale concerts to be held in Sichuan. In Haikou City, Hainan Province, rewards of 1 million yuan, 3 million yuan and 5 million yuan will be given respectively based on the different scales of 30,000, 60,000 and 90,000 tickets sold for large-scale concerts.

Under the influence of big-name artists, young Internet celebrities have indeed brought in considerable box office revenues.​A person in charge of a shopping mall in Beijing, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the sales of the mall did not increase due to the influx of a large number of fans. "A lot of fans came. It seemed very lively, but in fact, it only brought a flow of people."

The above-mentioned person in charge gave an example, saying that most of the fans who came to the concert during the summer vacation were students and had little purchasing power. They mainly took photos, checked in and bought souvenirs at the pop-up stores in the mall. They basically did not consume at other stores in the mall. "Even the drinks were purchased in groups."