Customers' perceptions about concerts and CDs

Purpose - Taking into account the increasing prices of attending concerts and gigs and the decreasing prices and better sound quality of CDs and music in file-computer format, is the future of music events threatened by music CDs? Are clients' perceptions about concerts and CDs very different? This study aims to answer these research questions by comparing important perceptions of concert attendees and CD buyers.Design methodology approach - An empirical study is conducted in two different contexts: CD buyers and concert attendees. In order to answer the research questions outlined the most appropriate statistical tool is the student's t-test. The variables to compare do not have normal distributions; therefore, non-parametric tests have been conducted to confirm the results. In addition, a discriminant analysis has been applied in order to assure that both consumers sub-samples differ with regard to the variables used in the study.Findings - The future of music events is not threatened at all by music CDs. On one hand, the concert industry has been increasingly making more profits in many countries in last decade. On the other hand, consumer satisfaction, price fairness perception, willingness to pay, customer value, and product service quality are significantly more highly ranked in concert attendees than in CD buyers. The statistical analyses show clients' perceptions about concerts and CDs are very different. All the variables analysed except image have been significantly different in both sub-samples of consumers.Originality value - This paper examines customer perceptions of two of the most important sectors in the music industry: concerts and CDs, using variables that directly measure these perceptions. It is crucial for music managers to understand motives and feelings of music consumers of these basic sectors in order to make appropriate decisions.