LPA Ticket Attendance and Revenue Survey 2015

Photo: Lore - Bangarra Dance Theatre, Jeff Tan

Festivals (Multi-Category)Click for more info

In the period 2014 to 2015, Festivals (Multi-Category) increased in terms of revenue and attendance. Gross revenue increased by 17.1% from $47.81 million to $55.97 million. The increase in revenue was derived from an increase in total attendance of 16.8% and the average ticket price which increased from $48.41 in 2014 to $56.69 in 2015, an increase of 17.1%.

The increase for Festivals (Multi-Category) was in part due to the strong growth in attendance and revenue at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and sustained growth of the Falls Music & Arts Festival in Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. Other major events in this category in 2015 included the annual Sydney Festival, Brisbane Festival, Perth International Arts Festival and Melbourne Festival.

Significant increases in growth were experienced by Victoria with revenue increasing by 121% and attendance by 336%. The significant increase in Victoria is partially due to the success of the Falls Music & Arts Festival. In Queensland revenue rose by 77% and attendance by 37%, partially due to the growth of Brisbane Festival. Tasmania experienced an increase in revenue (17%) and attendance (60%), in part due to the biennial festival Tasmanian International Arts Festival taking place in 2015. Notable declines were experienced in the ACT with revenue and attendance falling by 94% and 91% respectively, and in New South Wales with revenue and attendance declining by 30% and 15%.

Note: This report does not include 248,274 tickets and $6,194,244 in sales revenue generated by the Fringe World Festival (Perth) in 2015. On a like for like basis including Fringe World Festival, Western Australia experienced a decline in revenue and attendance of 4.9% and 2.1% respectively.

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Festivals (Multi-Category) - Revenue and Attendance (2004–2015)

Revenue ($) Growth (%) Total Attendance* Growth (%) Average Ticket Price ($)** Growth (%)
2004 $14,842,476 483,858 $32.26
2005 $5,170,934 -65.2% 157,228 -67.5% $39.13 21.3%
2006 $9,633,454 86.3% 201,711 28.3% $56.72 44.9%
2007 $9,318,441 -3.3% 294,296 45.9% $44.09 -22.3%
2008 $21,615,824 132.0% 551,810 87.5% $52.11 18.2%
2009 $10,642,917 -50.8% 431,061 -21.9% $33.60 -35.5%
2010 $9,570,915 -10.1% 263,464 -38.9% $43.12 28.3%
2011 $11,777,244 23.1% 242,222 -8.1% $57.02 32.2%
2012 $12,916,787 9.7% 260,623 7.6% $59.58 4.5%
2013 $25,622,029 98.4% 786,530 201.8% $34.59 -41.9%
2014 $47,805,136 86.6% 1,059,806 34.7% $48.41 39.9%
2015 $62,162,178 30.0% 1,486,599 40.3% $50.32 3.9%

*Based on both paid and unpaid tickets

** Average Ticket Prices are calculated based only on paid tickets

State/Territory Breakdown Close Table

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Festivals (Multi-Category) - Revenue by State/Territory (2015)

State/Territory Revenue ($) Proportion Industry Share Change From 2015) Attendance Proportion Industry Share Change From 2015)
NSW $8,610,964 15.4% -10.5% 68,124 5.5% -2.0%
VIC $16,776,310 30.0% 14.1% 189,550 15.3% 11.2%
QLD $3,532,292 6.3% 2.1% 115,329 9.3% 1.4%
WA $3,523,836 6.3% -3.1% 50,711 4.1% -12.9%
SA $17,862,734 31.9% -2.8% 694,993 56.1% 0.1%
TAS $5,314,625 9.5% 0.0% 110,896 9.0% 2.4%
ACT/NT $347,173 0.6% 0% 8,722 0.7% 0%

Photo: WOMADelaide 2015 - Arts Projects Australia, Tony Lewis

Supplementary Data

The category attracted 39,014 attendees and generated $622,814 in revenue. The slightly weaker revenue result is due to a large percentage of unpaid tickets (43.0% of total attendance) and lower than average ticket prices ($28.11). This category however had high average attendance (549) and revenue ($8,772) per performance.

Regional and metropolitan venues generated the majority of revenue and attendance for this category generating 94% of total revenue, with festivals held at City Recital Hall (NSW) and Riverside Theatres (NSW). Key Organisations in New South Wales also made a notable contribution to this category, including performances such as Day for Night by The Performance Space.

Note: This data is supplementary to the 2015 primary ticketing survey data.

Photo: WOMADelaide 2015 - Arts Projects Australia, Tony Lewis

Individual Category Results