![]() “The experience needs to be epic and last well after the show. “For a while we were in the experience economy, but we’re evolving into a transformation economy, where people want more than an experience - they want to be transformed,” says Mike Savas, founder of Superfan Live, which runs concert packages for Metallica and Disturbed. And, there’s a growing number of players driving such experiences to evolve creatively, competitively, and lucratively. Throw in the financial boost such events provide amid the strains of inflation and Covid, and fan experiences are a game-changer for touring artists. “We’re seeing their desire to get out, experience, travel, and feel more, especially in a more curated situation.” “Coming out of a pandemic, people are putting a true value on experience,” says Harvey Cohen of Vibee, a new arm of Live Nation specializing in music-led destination experiences. ![]() Covid ignited deeper hunger and newfound appreciation for “IRL,” and events and VIP options are evolving to the point where some concertgoers - and even artists - are more pumped about preshow activities than the gig. That has given way to intimate and interactive experiences like tequila toasts with Katy Perry, brunch with Tiesto, side-stage access to Matchbox Twenty, and backstage beers with Disturbed. It’s a stark contrast to the masks, social distancing, and other precautionary measures you’d see at concerts in recent years. Launched in Europe, the $5,000, two-show Backstreet Boys package chauffeured fans between cities and included everything from meet-and-greets, tickets and solo events to rider requests. ![]() ![]() Giving fans that legit peek into touring, along with extraordinary encounters, was part of the ambitious Anywhere for You VIP offering dreamed up by Eddie Meehan, CEO of fan-engagement company Please & Thank You. And while the larger-than-life adventures, jet lag and post-show shots are taking their toll, I later realize maybe it’s simply part of getting an authentic taste of road life. It’s been a day my 16-year-old Backstreet Boys-loving self could only have dreamed of - lunching with Howie Dorough, watching Nick Carter perform 20-year-old solo throwbacks, enjoying manicures with AJ McLean, and witnessing the group’s DNA world tour spectacle front row in Germany, before heading to London to do it all over again. in the Strait of Dover and I’m lying awake on the top bunk of a tour bus parked on a ferry headed from France to the U.K. ![]()
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