As thousands of music fans descend on Stradbally for Electric Picnic, Behind the Story is taking a deep dive into the booming business of Ireland's live music scene.
A report earlier this month from PwC found that live music revenue here reached €241 million in 2024, up nearly 5% from 2023.
Live music revenue is also expected to grow at 2% annually to €266m in 2029.
Concerts in high-capacity venues accounted for the largest share, at €298, followed by music festivals at €194.
RTÉ Business Journalist Adam Maguire told the Behind the Story podcast that live music is where the money is.
"There are definitely more events on and they’re bigger," he said.
"Part of that, especially in music, is because live is now where you make your money.
"It used to be that you went on tour to promote your album - now you put out an album to make an excuse for going on tour."
Read more: Stradbally set for an Electric Picnic weekend
However, it's not just music driving the gig economy.
Thousands of US tourists came to Ireland to watch the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium last weekend which generated an estimated €130m for the economy.
Adam said the knock-on benefits from such events are equally as important.
"You had 24,000 people flying in, most of them from the US, to go and see the game," he said.
"While they were here, they were on average staying for about a week and travelling around the country."
Venue gaps
But Adam said Ireland also has constraints when it comes to performance venues.
"We have a lot of smaller venues - up to 1,500 capacity, certainly around Dublin - then there's this massive gap, then it goes up to the likes of the 3Arena," he said.
"So, there’s this gap in between there for artists who might be not quite big enough for the 3Arena, but too big for Vicar Street.
"And there’s another gap because we don’t have massive venues, except in the summertime when the likes of Croke Park and the Aviva [Stadium] became available," he added.
David’s big news
David also discussed today’s other news closer to home, as he was announced as the new presenter of Radio 1's Today programme.
He told RTÉ’s Arts and Media Correspondent Evelyn O’Rourke he is looking forward to the challenge.
"It’s very exciting, it’s a bit daunting, it’s a big challenge - but I’m really looking forward to it," he said.
"Big shoes to fill but it should be great."
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