Industry News

Australian live events up despite festival cancellations

Australia’s live performance sector generated 18.8 million ticket sales during 2016, up slightly on the previous year.

According to figures released by the Live Performance Australia (LPA) trade association, the industry registered Aus$1.43bn (£840m/$1.11bn) in revenue during the 12-month period. Ticket sales were up 2.1 per cent year-on-year, while revenue grew by 1.5 per cent.

The growth came despite revenues from festivals dropping by 25 per cent due to the cancellation of Future Music Festival and Stereosonic.

As with previous years, the contemporary music and musical theatre categories represented the two largest categories in the industry, generating 31 per cent and 24 per cent of revenue respectively. Combined, these two categories account for 55 per cent of the live performance industry in terms of gross revenue ($788m) and 48 per cent of total attendance (8.95m people).

“These figures underscore the economic and cultural value of the live performance industry for millions of Australians,” said LPA chief executive Evelyn Richardson.

“The need for increased investment in the performing arts has never been greater.

“The survey results also support recent customer spending data that shows more Australians are spending their hard-earned cash on ‘meaningful experiences’ such as concert tickets and the theatre. Our research reaffirms the important contribution that live performance makes to the national culture and the creative economy.”

Following the release of the results, the LPA called on the federal government to make good on its innovation and jobs agenda for the sector.

“We have access to a wide array of high-quality local and international performances, which the report shows Australians truly value and enjoy,” said Richardson. “However, if Australia is going to continue to compete globally, to satisfy both Australian audiences and attract international tourists, we need to ensure we invest more, not less, in creating local product that is world class.

“Instead, the last few years have seen funding cuts, our small to medium sector massively impacted, and very little indication that Government is prepared to deliver on its vision for innovation and jobs growth in our sector.

“We strongly believe that the Government needs to step up and support greater investment in our industry which creates jobs, employs more than 34,000 people, generates significant economic activity and enriches the cultural lives of millions of Australians.”