{"id":1871846,"date":"2026-04-08T09:55:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T06:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1871846"},"modified":"2026-04-08T09:55:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T06:55:49","slug":"physical-merchandise-has-never-been-more-important-australian-study-finds-gen-z-is-getting-hands-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1871846","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Physical Merchandise Has Never Been More Important\u2019: Australian Study Finds Gen Z Is Getting Hands-On"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2247403894.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\tSYDNEY, Australia \u2014 Vinyl, merch, ticket stubs and wristbands. In a shrinking, digital world, where upwards of 100 million songs live in our pockets, Gen Z has a seemingly unbreakable bond with physical touchpoints, the keepsakes of a great show and their favorite band.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s one of the takeaways from \u201cLove Song 2026,\u201d one of Australia\u2019s largest and longest-running studies on digital natives.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t‘People Forget That Relationships Are The Real Currency In Business’: David Grutman on How to Succeed in Nightlife & Hospitality (Book Excerpt)\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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    \n\tThe report, published this month and conducted earlier in the year by Connect by Live Nation, the music sponsorship, creative, and experiential agency, \u201cLove Song\u201d<\/em> surveyed 5,692 Australians, including 1,411 Gen Z respondents, for a glimpse at how young people engage with culture, navigate fandom, and prioritize live experiences.<\/p>\n

    \n\tOver half of those Gen Z participants were found to rely on curated spaces to navigate culture, from playlists to creators and events. Live music, of course, provides a rush and is seen as the social lubricant for today\u2019s youth, with 89 percent saying they\u2019d attend concerts solo to find their tribe, and 92 percent agreeing that meeting new people in real life at gigs is a perfect match.<\/p>\n

    \n\tThis good times keep rolling after the house lights have gone up. Nearly all Gen Z (96 percent) say pre- and post-event moments are just as important as the event itself, from artist-themed parties (73 percent) to fan meet-ups (74 percent) and exclusive VIP or behind-the-scenes moments.<\/p>\n

    \n\tGen X\u2019s collection of stubs from the 1990s might just be worth something. Aside from experiences, Gen Z loves an artifact, the new document reveals, from merchandise (81 percent) to ticket stubs and wristbands (87 percent), with fans preserving these in physical scrapbooks to spark memories at a later date.<\/p>\n

    \n\tWhile Gen Z, typically born 1997 to 2012, is connected like no generation before them, 76 percent are returning to vinyl, proof of which can be seen in annual reports from ARIA and IFPI. At the same time, some older technologies are getting dusted off, for a tangible connection. Think Polaroid cameras, iPods and other devices that many thought were done like the dinosaurs.<\/p>\n

    \n\t\u201cGen Z\u2019s engagement with live experiences isn\u2019t confined to a single moment \u2013 it\u2019s an ongoing lifecycle,\u201d said Kristy Rosser, senior vice president,\u00a0head of media & sponsorship at\u00a0Live\u00a0Nation\u00a0Australia and New Zealand.\u201cPhysical merchandise has never been more important, and participatory elements such as posters and autographs are making a strong comeback. They\u2019re blending the best of past and present to shape their own culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \n\tThe study took place from Feb. 18-25, 2026. Read more at connectbylivenation.com.au.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/australian-study-finds-gen-z-physical\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2247403894.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard SYDNEY, Australia \u2014 Vinyl, merch, ticket stubs and wristbands. In a shrinking, digital world, where upwards of 100 million songs live in our pockets, Gen Z has a seemingly unbreakable bond with physical touchpoints, the keepsakes of a great show and their favorite band. That\u2019s one of the takeaways […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-1871846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1871846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1871846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1871846\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1871846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1871846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1871846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}