Has there been a decline in concert etiquette post Covid?

Abstract

When you google ‘concert etiquette’ you get a plethora of articles detailing the do’s and don'ts when attending a concert. Every single article was written within the last 3 years therefore I'm questioning if concert etiquette has become more of a mainstream topic due to covid when live music came to a standstill, if so how has a global pandemic caused people to forget the social norms and how has this effected other concert goers as well as artists?

Methodology

I conducted primary research asking a group of people the longest amount of time they have queued for a concert as well as what year it took place, in my results I noticed that every year was post Covid aligning with my hypothesis of Covid’s impact.

I also analysed social media posts from when incidents have occurred and artists speaking out and evaluated media coverage from journalist interviews.

Literature review

The global pandemic was an unprecedented time for the music industry. “1 in 3 jobs were lost” and “live music revenues collapsed by 90%”, (BBC, ‘one in three music industry jobs were lost during pandemic’, 2021) resulting in the UK economy falling by 46%.

Society lost years of live music before in returned, except when it did eventually come back people’s behaviours toward it changed, a large part of it was the pandemic and being exposed to something that was gone for so long, however the forced isolation of the pandemic is not entirely at fault.

As Covid was beginning, TikTok had its rise to fame, and people become obsessed with the documentation of their show rather than living in the moment. This excessive nature of filming content can often get in the way of another attendee. “A relation between TikTok’s rise in popularity in recent years and the pandemic with a new generation of fans that are finally of age to attend concerts”. (Burnet, ‘The online and offline joys of concert-going practices and negotiation of concert etiquette by popular music fan communities on TikTok’, 2023). There is a far greater chance of going viral thanks to TikTok which could also cause fans to go out of their way for attention. “Some believe that the rise in incidents may be driven by social media, with fans trying to become a part of the show, in order to post videos of stunts that could potentially go viral” (Khomami, ‘Bad behaviour at concerts is becoming normalised, experts say’, 2023).

The average concert ticket today in comparison to pre Covid is a significant difference, “rising 42% overall since the pandemic”. (Marshall, ‘UK concert ticket prices continue to soar but who is actually benefiting, 2024).  Due to the extortionate prices, many fans will often feel a sense of entitlement, demanding things to artists on stage and treating it as a private show.

Artists have noticed a shift too, as seen in the 2021 Astroworld tragedy. During Travis Scott's performance the audience needed help they never got .The rapper carried on with his set as if nothing was happening. After this incident, artists became spectacularly more aware of what’s happening in the crowd and stopping mid performance if someone in the crowd needs help.

Conclusion

I believe that concert etiquette has definitely declined since the pandemic, but there are multiple driving factors that have contributed to my hypothesis including an influence of social media culture, generational shifts and the social isolation due to Covid resulting in diminished social skills. There are multiple recorded case studies that serve as evidence and my own primary research is an indication to the new behavior that surrounds concerts.

Reference list

BBC (2021) ‘one in three music industry jobs were lost during pandemic’, 14 April

Burnet, K. (2023) The online and offline joys of concert-going practices and negotiation of concert etiquette by popular music fan communities on TikTok. BA thesis. Tilburg University. Available at: http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=162870 (Accessed: 14 April 2025).

Khomami, N. (2023) ‘Bad behaviour at concerts is becoming normalised, experts say’, The Guardian, 4 August. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/aug/04/bad-behaviour-at-concerts-normalised-experts-say (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

Marshall, T. (2024) ‘UK concert ticket prices continue to soar but who is actually benefiting’, Routenote blog, 5 December. Available at: https://routenote.com/blog/uk-concert-ticket-prices-continue-to-soar-but-who-is-actually-benefiting/ (Accessed: 14 April 2025).