Please & Thank You, the largest independent VIP agency, analyzed nearly one million VIP ticket transactions and found that repeat purchase behavior, not per-ticket spend, is the strongest signal of a high-value fan. The agency, which runs VIP programs for Sabrina Carpenter, Backstreet Boys, and Shaboozey, published the findings in a report titled The VIP Economy.
The dataset covers 302 artists across 34 countries. The full report is available at vipeconomy.please.co.
Retention thresholds
The report identifies the third VIP purchase for a single artist or event as a key inflection point. Key findings include:
- After a third VIP purchase, return probability rises from 20% to 38%.
- By an eighth purchase, return probability reaches 65%.
- Total live music revenue is projected to grow from $34.6 billion to $67.1 billion by 2035.
- Within that growth, possible superfan revenue is estimated at $4.5 billion.
Revenue and retention
The report cites National Independent Talent Organization data showing an artist nets roughly $8 from a traditional $100 ticket after venue, promoter, and agent fees. VIP revenue, by contrast, flows largely to the artist. That makes retention, not pricing, the highest-leverage growth lever in touring, inside a live-music market Goldman Sachs projects will reach $67.1 billion by 2035.
Eddie Meehan, CEO of Please & Thank You, said:
“Artists and managers have treated VIP like a nice-to-have for years. P&TY has been doing this for two decades, and our data says it’s closer to the only real growth lever left in touring. There’s a ceiling on what a fan will pay for a single ticket. There isn’t one on what they’ll spend coming back for more. That loyalty already exists. Our job is giving it somewhere to go.”
