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Envision having a night off. You're feeling rejuvenated, open to experience, and wanting to break from your usual routine of evening scrolling. Life itself awaits your choice! Do you prefer a) seeing live music or b) having sex? The answer, as typically seen with these types of questions, is clearly: “That depends.” Thinking adults may reasonably ask: what is the concert? Who's the companion? Is it likely to be good?

Few would choose a heavy metal lineup if the alternative was a magical night with a favorite star. But adjust one side of the equation, and it becomes more complicated. For the participants asked this question through a live event company, no such context was provided – and the result was revealed unambiguously and strongly in favour of gigs.

Study Data Indicate Unexpected Trends

An international study, polling a large sample aged between 18 and 54 in different nations, found that live music have become the most popular form of entertainment, ranking above games, films and – yes – sex. When limited to a single form of entertainment permanently, 39% of respondents selected concerts, versus watching movies (17%) and sports events (14%). The group was over two times as inclined to select watching their top musician live (70%) rather than sex (30%).

You arrive expecting to be pleasantly surprised – and regularly you could wind up with a stranger's hair in your mouth

Context and Considerations

Of course it makes sense that a promotional study commissioned by a live event company should come out so overwhelmingly supporting concerts – and, amid the playful mood of a either-or question, if your top performer is, for example Paul McCartney, it's understandable why seeing him may be chosen over a routine experience. However this binary choice between gigs or sex, plainly ridiculous though it may be, is fascinating to reflect on given the odd point we experience with these two aspects.

The Transformation of Concert Culture

Lately, live music participation has become not just a communal experience but a intense competition. Live organizations rightly note that stadium attendance has “tripled annually”, and music festivals get booked up more rapidly than previously. Merely acquiring tickets now demands detailed strategy, rapid-fire response times and bottomless pockets (or a substantial budget). Even if you’re successful, it’s not enough to just show up and enjoy the show. Currently there is an assumption, especially for concertgoers, that you could increase your return on investment by attending more than once (even travelling internationally), swotting up on the song selection beforehand and knowing your marks to perform and audience interactions developed through earlier audiences.

Several fans describe being affected by their experience at major tours: what felt like a choreographed performance of huge audiences, to which certain attendees came unfamiliar with the routine. That 18-month tour, producing huge revenue, showed of the degree to which attendees will push to experience a cultural moment and watch their preferred performer play, even if the real performance appears more and more less important than the production.

The Situation of Contemporary Sexuality

Sexual activity, conversely – an affordable and accessible pleasure – is in dire straits. According to contemporary studies, nearly one in four of adults were intimate in an typical week, while just under a third were abstaining. In another major country, modern figures indicated that over a quarter of individuals said they had not sexual activity at all in the past year, rising from fewer people in previous decades. Across these regions, the trend has been linked to less sexual activity with younger generations. Juxtapose this with the market driving growth for stadium extravaganzas and the intense rivalry for admissions. Of course it isn't straightforward as a basic option between one or the other – “do you prefer see a major tour often, or remain abstinent?” – but it's possibly an indication of which is perceived as the more consistent satisfaction.

Surprising Parallels

Relationships and gigs are more similar than people often believe. Each symbolizes the activation of a connection, a practical trial of impressions or potential that might have amassed solely in your imagination. You show up with a general notion of the probable outcome, but anticipating pleasantly surprised – and if it turns out good or bad relies heavily on how your vibe and expectations align with others. Frequently you could wind up with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and afterwards be lingering for a break and a moment alone by yourself. And, in both cases, stimulants and beverages can potentially heighten or reduce the event (but absolutely assist the most dire situations more bearable).

Achieving Equilibrium

The wonder to concerts and intimacy hinges on locating that elusive sweet spot between comfort and excitement, similarity and difference, challenge and comfort. Naturally it happens only rarely – but it's the remembrance of successful moments, the knowledge that it can happen, that drives us to give it another shot: to {