New Zealand's live music industry busiest it has been in decades

If you're after a concert experience - you'll be spoiled for choice right now. 

People who work in the live music industry say they're the busiest they've been in more than a decade.

It's a double-edged sword though as they have also seen a noticeable slowdown in ticket sales.

After years of postponements and cancellations, live music is back - en masse. 

Guns N' Roses, The Killers, Jack Johnson and Billy Joel are all set to perform in New Zealand while there are also dozens of summer festivals for Kiwis to choose from.

"In Australasia right now, we are probably three to four times busier than we've been in at least the last 10 years," tour manager Sarin Moddle said.

There's a stream of postponed events to catch up on as well as a surge of artists eager to get back on stage. 

It's so busy some musicians haven't even been able to book venues and with so many options to choose from it's getting harder to get those sell-out crowds. 

"[It] certainly puts a strain not only the ticket sales, but also the crews and the vendors and the supplies, and the infrastructure," Moddle said.

It's costing more to put on a show - and that's having a flow-on effect for already financially-stretched customers. 

At the upper end of the scale, if you're after a close-up view of Billy Joel, it'll set you back up to $500 - per person. 

But annual events like the summer festival Northern Bass have proved they are still popular.

"[It] should sell out in the next two to three weeks. We didn't do it last year - that might be a big one," FuZen Northern Bass director Gareth Popham said.

Popham said new events are definitely struggling with most sales left last-minute. 

But with a range of shows on offer it's a good problem to have. 

"It's the busiest six to seven-month period I've ever seen in 23 years of promoting," Popham said

If one thing's for sure - there's certainly no shortage of artists to choose from.