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Picture being gifted with a open night. You're feeling refreshed, open to experience, and hoping to shake up your usual routine of evening scrolling. The world offers possibilities! Could you prefer a) attending a concert or b) being with a partner? The answer, as is often the case with these types of queries, is obviously: “It depends.” Thinking adults may reasonably inquire: what's the concert? With whom is the partner? Is it going to be satisfying?

Hardly anyone would choose a intense rock concert if the alternative was a dream date with a beloved celebrity. Yet change any part of the comparison, and it turns more complicated. Regarding the participants asked this question from a major concert promoter, no such clarification was provided – and the result came out clearly and overwhelmingly preferring live music events.

Study Data Indicate Unexpected Preferences

A global survey, polling 40,000 people ranging from 18 and 54 from multiple countries, showed that gigs are now the most popular form of entertainment, surpassing games, movies and – yes – sexual intercourse. If restricted to a single form of activity for the rest of their lives, a significant portion picked gigs, versus going to the cinema (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). They were also significantly more as prone to select watching their top musician on stage (70%) rather than sex (30%).

You appear expecting to be pleasantly surprised – and quite often you’ll end up with a stranger's hair in your mouth

Perspectives and Analysis

Naturally it’s not surprising that a promotional study commissioned by a concert promoter would result so heavily preferring concerts – and, in the freewheeling mood of a hypothetical choice, if your top performer is, for example an iconic star, one can appreciate why attending his concert could prevail rather than a common or garden situation. However this two-option scenario between live music or sexual activity, obviously silly though it may be, is interesting to reflect on given the odd juncture we experience with these two aspects.

The Transformation of Live Music Experience

Lately, live music participation has grown beyond a communal experience but a serious endeavor. Event companies rightly note that arena crowds has “increased threefold each year”, and live events sell out more rapidly than previously. Simply getting admissions now needs extensive preparation, quick decision-making and deep finances (or a substantial budget). Although you’re successful, that alone won't do to just show up and watch the performance. There’s now an assumption, especially for concertgoers, that you could increase your enjoyment value by attending more than once (including overseas trips), learning the performance lineup beforehand and knowing your marks to perform and audience interactions established by past attendees.

Several attendees admit to scarred by their experience at large concerts: what seemed like a scripted production of thousands of people, in which some individuals arrived not knowing the routine. The extended concert series, earning massive sums, showed of the degree to which attendees will push to experience a cultural moment and watch their preferred performer perform, although the actual music appears more and more overshadowed by the spectacle.

The Situation of Current Relationships

Sex, conversely – an affordable and accessible pleasure – experiences challenging circumstances. Based on modern research, about a quarter of adults engaged sexually in an typical week, while about three in ten were abstaining. In a different nation, modern figures showed that more than 25% of people said they had not sex even once in the previous year, increasing from smaller percentages in previous decades. Across these regions, the trend has been associated with reduced intimacy in youth demographics. Compare this with the market driving growth for major events and the intense rivalry for admissions. Naturally it isn't straightforward as a simple decision between both alternatives – “do you prefer see a major tour repeatedly, or avoid intimacy?” – but it might be an sign of what is viewed as the more consistent enjoyment.

Surprising Parallels

Sex and live music are more comparable than you might think. They both embody the commencement of a relationship, a real-world test of impressions or potential that could have built just in your mind. You arrive with a basic expectation of the probable outcome, but hopeful of being happily shocked – and how it ends up satisfying or frustrating rests largely on how your vibe and expectations match theirs. Regularly you might find with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and following be lingering for a break and personal space on your own. And, in both cases, stimulants and beverages can potentially heighten or lessen the situation (but certainly help the most dire situations simpler to handle).

Finding the Balance

The magic to concerts and intimacy depends on discovering that hard-to-find balance between comfort and excitement, sameness and variation, challenge and comfort. Naturally it's uncommon – but it's the recollection of when they did, the understanding that it can happen, that motivates us to give it another shot: to {