Managing live music performances: a demand and supply analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to provide a comparison between the demand and supply aspects of live music performances in order to establish whether any differences exist between those aspects regarded as important by management and those critical success factors that visitors regard as important in achieving a memorable visitor experience. This research employed qualitative (supply aspect) and quantitative (demand aspect) research methods. The surveys concerning the visitors (demand) were conducted at six musical events representing diverse genres: classical, R&B, rock, blues, pop, and Afrikaans, where a total of 4,110 questionnaires were administered for all six genres. To determine the critical success factors in terms of what the visitors regarded as being important for a memorable visitor experience, a factor analysis was employed. The qualitative research method was applied by means of interviews to obtain the relevant information from the selected participants. All the data collected in the process were transcribed into text and presented in a narrative form. Creswell's six steps for data analysis and interpretation were utilized to analyze the data. Two themes were identified from the analysis; each of these was differentiated in terms of various categories and subcategories. The results from both the demand and the supply sides were compared with one another and significant differences were identified. The results of this research contribute greatly to existing literature and to the music industry as a whole, as this was the first time that research has been conducted on both the demand and the supply side. Moreover, this was also the first occasion on which both a qualitative and a quantitative research method was employed in research conducted at live music performances and where these were subsequently compared to one another.