LPA Ticket Attendance and Revenue Survey 2015

Photo: Lore - Bangarra Dance Theatre, Jeff Tan

Festivals (Contemporary Music)Click for more info

In 2015, the Festivals (Single-Category) experienced a decline in gross revenue, falling by 17.3% from $129.21 million to $106.83 million. The fall in gross revenue can be explained in part by the 14% fall in the average ticket price, which fell from $136.91 to $117.72. Attendance increased by 1.5% in 2015. This category has the highest average ticket price in the industry.

The above changes can largely be explained by the cancellation of the festival Big Day Out in 2015. The annual festival has been running from 1999 to 2014 in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and the Gold Coast and its cancellation impacted significantly on total revenue and attendance. Major festivals that contributed to revenue and attendance growth in this category in 2015 included Splendour in the Grass, Bluesfest, Future Music Festival, Stereosonic, Groovin’ the Moo and St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival.

All states experienced negative growth in this category, with the exception of New South Wales that experienced slight growth in revenue (2%) and attendance (25%), and South Australia that experienced a significant increase in revenue (68%) and a slight increase in attendance (6%).

It is worth noting that data for this category is likely to underestimate the size of Australia’s music festival market, particularly boutique music festivals, as not all events provide data to the Survey.

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Festivals (Contemporary Music) - Revenue and Attendance (2004–2015)

Revenue ($) Growth (%) Total Attendance* Growth (%) Average Ticket Price ($)** Growth (%)
2004 $9,015,128 190,260 $54.69
2005 $12,128,384 34.5% 269,208 41.5% $63.05 15.3%
2006 $36,576,877 201.6% 761,920 183.0% $50.93 -19.2%
2007 $26,972,082 -26.3% 753,247 -1.1% $39.00 -23.4%
2008 $66,429,106 146.3% 1,221,972 62.2% $60.91 56.2%
2009 $55,275,589 -16.8% 800,145 -34.5% $81.19 33.3%
2010 $100,918,020 82.6% 1,028,170 28.5% $119.39 47.1%
2011 $96,453,486 -4.4% 984,946 -4.2% $138.97 16.4%
2012 $98,365,490 2.0% 1,169,233 18.7% $128.71 -7.4%
2013 $107,367,780 9.2% 1,053,419 -9.9% $130.46 1.4%
2014 $129,210,058 20.3% 1,281,339 21.6% $136.91 4.9%
2015 $106,825,241 -17.3% 1,300,025 1.5% $117.72 -14.0%

*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 (Contemporary Music) - Revenue by State/Territory (2015)

State/Territory Revenue ($) Proportion Industry Share Change From 2015) Attendance Proportion Industry Share Change From 2015)
NSW $55,720,532 52.2% 9.9% 586,084 45.1% 8.4%
VIC $13,215,157 12.4% -6.1% 197,762 15.2% -1.4%
QLD $10,334,820 9.7% -6.0% 171,136 13.2% -4.4%
WA $16,457,217 15.4% -2.8% 186,709 14.4% -3.4%
SA $9,078,014 8.5% 4.3% 132,600 10.2% 0.4%
ACT $1,895,205 1.8% 0.6% 23,135 1.8% 0.4%
TAS/NT $124,295 0.1% 0% 2,599 0.2% 0%

Photo: Bluesfest 2015, Tao Jones

Supplementary Data

Festivals (Single-Category) attracted 36,324 attendances and generated $1.09 million in revenue in 2015. Although this category had a slightly higher than average ticket price ($44.63) it staged 348 performances, well below the industry average of 645.

Key Organisations generated 64% of total revenue with significant contributions from ACT and Victoria with significant contributions from the Canberra International Music Festival and the Wangaratta Jazz & Blues Festival. City Recital Hall (NSW) also significantly contributed to revenue and attendance among metropolitan and regional venues.

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

Photo: Bluesfest 2015, Tao Jones

Individual Category Results