Social Moments Change Live Entertainment, Again
TikTok Has Changed The Relationship, And Opportunity, Between Live And Social
In the social media revolution of the 2010s, social feeds became an essential extension of live experiences. From the days of “checking in” on Foursquare to our current era of TikTok clips, smartphones fueled not just the ability to document an experience, but now what has become almost a sense of responsibility to capture and share in "iconic" moments with friends and followers. This marks a shift in why and how audiences capture and share live entertainment, maturing beyond simply an appetite for social currency or to cause FOMO, to now a want to share in the experience with others through social. That is due in part to the more "we" minded nature of TikTok, versus the "me" centric nature of Instagram. This social recap of Bad Bunny's show is a perfect example of how audiences increasingly are bringing followers along for the fun of a live experience, beyond simply bragging about getting to do it.
Post-pandemic live experiences now increasingly cater to share-ability -- and no, we’re not talking about those experiences designed exclusively for social content like the Museum of Ice Cream or Museum of Selfies. Instead, we're seeing events like major concerts adjust their approach to give fans unpredictable moments that must be captured. In his massive Love On Tour, Harry Styles designated specific moments in the show to read and respond to signs brought by fans, assist with marriage proposals, or even make calls on a fan's phone. In another example, The 1975's Matt Healy created space for an auto-tuned verse in which he would improvise based on what was happening that night.
This idea of integrating planned unpredictability into live entertainment, embraced today heavily in music, can be applied broadly to other live experiences and experiential activations. Consider where in the run of show are moments built for social, and separately how is each experience of that show giving the audience an "exclusive one night only" gift to capture and share. While some talent have worked to eliminate cell phones from their live events, it's clear that planned spontaneity is driving the appeal of live entertainment for Gen Z. Just listen to this top voted comment on a subreddit for the upcoming Taylor Swift tour:
"My expectation is a somewhat different show every night. There will be core staples at every single show (Cruel Summer, ATW10, august, Anti Hero, etc) but I think the second half of each show will differ every night."