The Arts Need Oxytocin! Our research reveals how ‘tactile value’ at live music events influences economic decisions. By examining how physical interactions enhance concert experiences, we show that festivalgoers assign greater economic worth to these sensory moments. Could marketing strategies be reshaped to consider touch and drive higher demand for in-person cultural events?
Did you know that cultural experiences engage all human beings’ senses, even touch? While we often think of art as something we see or hear, touch plays a key role in how we connect with the world around us. Whether it’s the thrill of brushing shoulders with others at a concert or the simple act of holding and feeling a paintbrush between one’s fingers, these tactile moments can deepen our connection to cultural events (Radermecker 2021).
In our research, we argue that “tactile value” can be viewed as a derivative of the “social value” of culture (see Angelini & Castellani 2019 and Throsby 2001). More specifically, this value reflects the subjective worth that an individual places on experiencing – intentional or unintentional, conscious or unconscious, active or passive – tactual contacts with other like-minded people who participate in the same cultural activity. Experiencing tactile value can lead to different feelings: from enjoyment (linked to the secretion of oxytocin, aka the “love hormone” <3) to repulsion, depending upon the agent’s own subjectivity and life experience, the parties involved in the tactile momentum, the purpose of the physical act and the environment. When experienced positively, tactile value can contribute to understanding the enjoyment deriving from cultural experience.
But how does this apply to the arts? To find out, we focused on mass live events like concerts and festivals, where hundreds or even thousands of people gather. Music, which already heightens emotions and fosters social connections, becomes a catalyst for tactile experiences. At these events, the shared energy of the crowd, amplified by physical closeness, can boost mood, improve mental health, and create a powerful sense of community. We thus asked the following question: How important is the perception and experience of tactile value amongst concert- and festivalgoers?
To answer this question, we designed and conducted a survey, targeting young festival- and concert-goers in Italy and Belgium, between September and November 2021, collecting 142 usable exploitable questionnaires. The chosen period was aimed to collect the viewpoints in a time where the Covid-19 pandemic was still ongoing, while some first reopenings were already experienced. Each questionnaire contained 34 questions related to the experience of live music events and tactile value, together with a set of general information questions, and the questions were answered through a web platform, without assistance. This approach clearly limited the data to people strongly interested in the type of events we were investigating, not allowing a comparison with people attending other types of events (or no cultural events at all).
The empirical analysis was conducted using a Structural Equation Model (SEM), which enables the investigation of relationships between both measurable and latent variables. Latent variables, although not directly measurable, can be inferred through their relationships with a set of observable variables. In this case, the observable variables were derived from survey questions. These variables allowed us to quantify the relationships between the importance assigned to tactile value, the pleasantness of haptic experiences, the positivity of these perceptions, and the willingness to pay for access to non-restricted live music events (as opposed to online or restricted ones).
What do our analyses reveal? They indicate that the perception of the relevance of touch in live music events plays a substantial role, as it influences how young concert- and festivalgoers economically evaluate tactile value. This relevance is linked to the pleasantness respondents report about the experience of being immersed in a crowd and receiving handshakes or hugs from strangers. In live music settings, tactile value thus contributes to making these events special. More broadly, greater awareness of “tactile value” can have implications for academia, practitioners, and policymakers alike. Not only do we introduce this notion theoretically, but we also encourage scholars to further consider the five senses as part of the cultural experience. For example, what about the sense of smell when visiting an antiques store or an artist’s workshop? Tactile value also contributes to the debate on the role of arts and culture in people’s well-being, a recent priority at the European level, as physical contact has proven crucial for addressing mental health issues. For cultural event managers, using sensory marketing and offering positive haptic experiences could be a way to distinguish themselves from competitors and online-only events.
Consider this: festival organizers could highlight positive haptic experiences in their marketing strategies to attract audiences back to mass events. Advertising materials could focus on physical interaction and the joy of shared experiences through visuals and videos that emphasize moments of tactile contact. Such strategies may particularly appeal to younger generations, like Gen Z and Alpha, who experienced lockdowns during critical developmental stages and might need encouragement to re-engage with physical cultural experiences. Last but not least, the importance of tactile value in certain cultural sectors could raise policymakers’ awareness of the need to further support these sectors, particularly those hardest hit during lockdowns. And why not use this characteristic as a new criterion for decision-making?
References
Angelini, F., Castellani, M. Cultural and economic value: a critical review. J Cult Econ 43, 173–188 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-018-9334-4
Radermecker, A.-S. (2021). How the pandemic shed light on the “tactile value” of art and culture. SHIT! Corona Chronicles. An online Space/Repository/Forum to share problems, solutions, issues, field notes and questions about how professional arts and culture works in a Covid-19/Post-Covid-19 world (Posted on 15 February 2021). https://padlet.com/ellenloots/wosl47s6cckq996p
Throsby, D. (2001). Economics and culture. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
About this article
Radermecker, A. S. V., & Angelini, F. (2024). On the role of “tactile value” in cultural consumption: an empirical research in the live music industry. Cultural Trends, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2024.2387024
About the authors
Anne-Sophie Radermecker is an assistant professor in Cultural Management at the Université libre de Bruxelles.
Francesco Angelini is Assistant Professor at University of Bologna, mainly focused on Cultural Economics, I.O, and Political Economy topics.
About the image
Photo taken at the Les Ardentes festival in Liège, made available to authors by the festival organisers.
