Music strikes a chord with SA’s consumer class

When it comes to the interests and activities that elevate our daily lives, South Africans living in households earning R10,000 or more put music first, even slightly ahead of their travel aspirations.

We’re not alone in prioritising our music consumption; according to the 2025 Global Music Report, worldwide recorded music revenues grew for the 10th consecutive year in 2024. Despite the cost of living crisis that has triggered household cost-cutting across most countries, music revenue still rose by 4.8%, reaching $29.6bn.

According to results of WhyFive’s BrandMapp, SA’s largest survey of the country’s taxpaying base, 58% of respondents cite music as their top pastime, ahead of travel, watching movies, cooking, reading and dining out.

Brandon de Kock, director of storytelling at BrandMapp, says: “What is interesting is that when we apply filters such as generations, ethnic groups or gender, music still tops the charts. Like cooking on fire, music seems to be one of the unifying forces in our society, even though different demographics inevitably have different preferences when it comes to musical genres and artists. I think it’s just part of our DNA. No matter what else is happening, SA’s consumer class still needs to feed the soul, and music remains our favourite way to do this.” 

Live music is more popular than live sports

Of course, we are one of the world’s top sports-loving nations, but BrandMapp shows that live music events actually rank higher on our wish lists than live sports events.

“BrandMapp doesn’t just tell us how important music is in the lives of South Africans, but also how that translates into consumer behaviour,” says De Kock. “In response to our question about attending live events, 44% of adults say they will attend a stadium music event this year, and another 44% say they plan to attend an outdoor music festival. De-duped, that’s an aggregate of 62% of adults planning to attend a large-scale live music event in the coming year, significantly topping the 41% who are likely to go and watch a sports event in 2025.”

He adds that while younger generations are obviously more likely to tick the “live music event” box, a substantial percentage of the older generations don’t want to miss out on their favourite artists or the camaraderie of a stadium experience.

“It’s not surprising that Andrea Bocelli’s three concert dates earlier this year sold out in Cape Town and Pretoria. And chances are if you wait much longer, it is unlikely you’ll find a ticket for Travis Scott’s Joburg Circus Maximus concert in October.”

Ticketmaster SA says it sold more than half a million tickets for live music events in 2024, a growth of over 50% from 2023, at an average ticket price of R1,100. Ticket sales are expected to continue to grow this year.

Music, embedded in the day-to-day life of the consumer class

The draw of music is not just about big, memorable experiences. BrandMapp highlights several ways that music is important in everyday life. After the weather and the news, music is the third most commonly internet-searched content on a weekly basis. The country’s consumer class searches for music more often than for directions or recipes. De Kock points out there’s an age differential here — with Gen Z and millennials searching for music online more than anything else.

Listening to music is the top online activity. More than half of South African adults (60%) in the consumer class are listening to music, ahead of watching movies (54%), watching TV (34%) and searching for jobs (34%).

“This is huge,” says De Kock. “When you put the generational lens on this, we see that 74% of Gen Z say they are regularly online to listen to music, and even millennials are more likely to be listening than watching when they are online. Streaming platforms Spotify and Apple Music, as well as YouTube Premium, are all significantly on the rise, with 33% of Gen Z using Apple Music and 40% using Spotify.”

When it comes to radio, which is highly popular in SA, enjoying the music that is played is the overwhelming reason to have a favourite radio station.

De Kock says: “The impact of music on the consumer class is absolutely huge. It’s an essential part of being human and therefore a priority in people’s lives and a significant driver of consumer behaviour. Our musical preferences form part of our identities, and help us find our ‘tribes’ in a sea of loneliness. Even in tough economic times, we are finding ways to fit music costs into our household budgets because there’s no question of living without a soundtrack to our lives. But more than that, music brings us together, and gives us a chance to relax and to find pure enjoyment in a stressed-out world. It’s such a powerful force that I can only feel sorry for the tiny group of 1% of adults who ticked a box to say that they are ‘not interested in music’!”

Get the consumer insights you need to make informed decisions

BrandMapp 2024 insights are now available directly from the BrandMapp team at WhyFive Insights and by subscription via Telmar, Softcopy, Nielsen and Eighty20. For data access, email Julie-anne@whyfive.co.za.

Visit the WhyFive website for an overview of what’s in the new data.

This article was sponsored by WhyFive.