The Value of Liveness: An Empirical Study of Consumer Behaviour, Cognitive Biases and Experiential Engagement in Live Music Events

This thesis examines how consumer behaviour in live music events is influenced by psychological, cognitive, and social mechanisms, integrating theoretical frameworks from behavioural economics and consumer neuroscience with empirical data from Italian concert attendees. The theoretical framework establishes that live music consumption transcends traditional rational choice models, encompassing hedonic, experiential, and social dimensions across its multiple phases. Building on Mulder and Hitters' (2021) motivational framework and Durkheim's concept of collective effervescence, the analysis demonstrates that attendance at live music events is shaped by intrinsic motivations, social drivers, and contextual factors spanning different stages including anticipation, on-site engagement, and recollection. In particular, drawing on Kahneman and Tversky's heuristics-and-biases framework, the study shows how systematic cognitive shortcuts—including scarcity heuristics, social proof, and FOMO—introduce predictable deviations from optimal decision-making in live music consumption contexts. Additionally, neuroimaging research further validates the experiential superiority of live performances, revealing stronger neural engagement and measurable interbrain synchronization among co-present audiences compared to recorded music. The empirical investigation surveyed 200 Italian consumers, revealing that artist appreciation, perceived uniqueness, and sensory immersion constituted dominant motivations for live music events attendance, while trend-following and social media performance proved negligible. Scarcity effects and FOMO emerged as the strongest predictors of impulsive purchasing, operating synergistically with emotional processing. On-site experience was dominated by emotional intensity and immersive presence, with collective effervescence providing secondary amplification. Critically, metacognitive awareness proved moderate: consumers systematically underestimated scarcity, social pressure, and emotional influences relative to their actual behavioural impact. This thesis provides empirical evidence that cognitive biases can interact and amplify one another. The findings offer practical insights into event programming, marketing, and pricing, while also highlighting the importance of using psychological knowledge ethically. Importantly, they show that the unique value of live music comes from its emotional intensity, social connection, and multisensory immersion, qualities that recorded media cannot replicate.