Survey: Average Lancashire music fan sitting on £147-worth of gig memorabilia

A new survey conducted by online printing supplier Cartridge Save has revealed that music fans in the North West could have a few earners in their memory boxes due to the growing popularity of physical tickets what with most passes in 2019 being digital.

Some 57% of die-hard fans say that they much prefer having an actual ticket for a gig so they can add it to their scrapbooks, with stubs for events such as a Rolling Stones concert almost as valuable as a piece of classic art and seen as an investment by many.

Showing that nostalgia is very much alive and well when it comes to music, 80% of gig-goers say that they keep concert posters, CDs, T-shirts, and tickets in a memory box or book for an average of 11 years, with snippets from Pink Floyd, Oasis, Take That, Prince, and Guns N Roses being the most collectable.

Despite many wanting to keep a memento, many venues like London’s O2 Academy, the Manchester Arena, and Wembley Arena prevent fans from taking home a keepsake due to the nature of digital tickets and the diminishing popularity of traditional stubs.

“Tickets are the way that people like to remember events and experiences that stand out in their lives," said Ian Cowley, managing director of cartridgesave.co.uk. "Our research has revealed that people are holding on to these for years after the event itself.

“Especially in this digital age, there is a tremendous value on printed matter and for those important times in our lives, exciting memories and those moments where the hairs stood up on the back of your neck, there’s no substitute for a ticket, a poster or photo to take you right back there," Ian added. “We’d love to see venues across the board give fans their tickets to keep at events as these are the things that have real sentimental value, not e-tickets or barcodes.”

Fans can share their favourite pieces of music memorabilia at www.cartridgesave.co.uk/printwhatmatters/save-my-stub.