The mobile revolution and social media in particular have turned live shows into digital events, increasing the ways that brands that sponsor concerts can extend positive association, reach and engagement well beyond an individual show or tour, according to a new study.

The study, the New Music Model for Brands: How Live Events and Digital are Changing the Sound of Things, released by GroupM Entertainment & Sports Partnerships, also shows that taking a picture or video of a show with a phone is now the second most popular engagement at a concert or festival, behind buying food and drinks. The findings underscore how marketers need to get up to speed on tapping the power of multichannel marketing, particularly where a brand campaign can drive consumers to live music shows, and vice-versa.  

"The opportunity to spread a partnership through mobile media is ripe for brands,? said Morgan Buksbaum, vice president at GroupM ESP. ?The younger audience is attending more shows, posting more photos and videos from their seats and have larger networks to distribute that content.?

The study also found that location-based campaigns that tie music lovers to a live concert and customized messaging point to music?s power to brands deepen brand engagement and relevance with consumers.

Music is the most important media in people?s lives, ahead of watching television, reading, social media, going to movies, and engagement with other media, according to the study.

Music partnerships are also most likely to increase positive feelings and a consumer?s propensity to purchase from a brand, ranking 27 percent higher than award shows, 15 percent higher than a sporting event, and 14 percent higher than a TV-show partnership ? suggesting music is the next must-have line item for advertising budgets, according to the study.

In other significant findings from the research, social is the new word of mouth for music. 

For people 35 and younger, social media is the most likely way they hear about a live event. So, while 49 percent of all concertgoers indicate they learned about the last concert or festival via word of mouth, the shift is under way and inevitable toward the influence of social, according to the study.

The study also emphasized YouTube?s importance in music consumption, putting it on a level with audio-only digital channels such as Pandora or Spotify.

Among 18- to 24-year-olds, 48 percent listen to music on YouTube daily, just shy of the 50 percent among the age group who listen to Internet radio and streaming services daily, according to the study. 

Similarly, these channels have nearly the same importance in the discovery of new artists, with Internet radio playing a role for 57 percent of the demographic, YouTube, 56 percent.

Taking a picture or video of the show with a phone is now the second most popular engagement at a concert or festival (63 percent), behind buying food and drinks (75 percent).

Fifty-two percent of concertgoers are also using their mobile device to look up details about the concert. 

Fifty-six percent of concertgoers said they would pay extra for an LED bracelet which lights up in sync with the music; 50 percent said they would pay extra for a mobile application which allows them to request a song for the band to play live.

?There is so much more we brands could be doing with their music investments,? said Jennifer Hageney, executive vice president with GroupM ESP. ?It's a very exciting time where the supply ? technology, digital and social scale ? and demand are all aligned waiting for a brand to come in and change the game."