Photo: Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Global Creatures, Photo Credit: Michelle Grace Hunder

Introduction:
2021 Ticket Attendance and Revenue Report (digital report)

Live Performance Australia (LPA) is pleased to release our Ticket Attendance and Revenue Report for 2021 (Report).

This is our 17th Report, providing reliable, comprehensive and longitudinal statistics about activity in the live arts and entertainment industry. As the leading source for industry results and trends, our reports are highly valued and used extensively by the industry, government, media and business.

This Report covers a year in which activity in the Australian live arts and entertainment industry continued to be affected by a global pandemic. In 2021, 10.9 million tickets were issued to live performance events, generating ticket sales revenue of $0.7 billion. While revenue and attendance were 12% and 40% higher respectively in 2021 than 2020, they were well below pre-pandemic levels. There was a lot of uncertainty in 2021, and the ability to present shows was hindered by domestic and international border restrictions, as well as extended lockdowns in key markets and other public health measures.

Between 2020 and 2021, almost all states and territories experienced growth in revenue and attendance. In contrast, results in each genre category varied greatly. Ballet and dance, children’s/family, comedy and musical theatre experienced significant year-on-year growth while contemporary music experienced a decline. Contemporary music was particularly affected by border restrictions, as there was limited national and international touring.

We encourage you to explore this digital report in depth. The data and commentary is broken down by both state and genre categories, providing a detailed analysis of the diverse and dynamic Australian live performance market. Genre categories include ballet and dance, children’s/family events, circus and physical theatre, classical music, comedy, contemporary music, festivals (multi-category), festivals (contemporary music), musical theatre, opera, special events, and theatre.

This Report would not be possible without the data provided by ticketing companies, self-ticketing venues, event promoters and National Performing Arts Partnership companies. We sincerely thank all data providers for their cooperation and continued support.

We also thank our long-term partner and Report Consultants, EY, for their professional services in compiling and analysing the ticket data, and our Web Designers, Paoli Smith, for their preparation of the Digital Report.

We hope you find the digital format informative and intuitive, allowing ease of comparison with previous year’s data and tracking of trends.

Evelyn Richardson
Evelyn Richardson
Chief Executive
Live Performance Australia

May 2023

Download the Report

Photo: Epic Sounds, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Photo Credit: Peter Wallis

Ticket Revenue and Attendance Overview

In 2021, the live performance industry reported greater total ticket revenue and attendance than in 2020. However, as COVID-19 restrictions remained (such as border closures and capacity limits), total ticket sales and revenue did not reach pre-pandemic levels. Restrictions were particularly prevalent in the two major markets, NSW and Victoria, which experienced extended lockdowns.

2021

  • Revenue: In 2021, the Australian live performance industry generated total ticket sales revenue of almost $0.7b, an increase of 12.0% from 2020 but a decrease of 65.4% from 2019 (pre-COVID).
  • The y-o-y increase can be primarily attributed to the increase in the total number of paid tickets. This is partially offset by a decline in the average ticket price in 2021.
  • Attendance: Approximately 10.9m tickets were issued in 2021, a 40.1% growth from 2020, but 54.4% lower than 2019. Of the 10.9m total tickets, the number of paid tickets issued were 9.8m (a significant increase from 7.0m tickets sold in 2020). The remaining 1.0m tickets issued in 2021 were complimentary, sponsor allocated and zero priced tickets.
  • Average ticket price: The average ticket price declined by 20.8% from $87.14 in 2020 to $69.02 in 2021.

Key Insights

  • Despite experiencing extended public health measures, NSW and VIC combined accounted for 55.3% of Australia’s live performance revenue and 45.8% of attendance in 2021.
  • All states and territories (except VIC and SA) experienced year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in revenue and attendance in 2021. The Northern Territory (NT) and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) experienced the highest growth in percentage terms in revenue and attendance in Australia.
  • Compared to other categories, Ballet and Dance experienced the highest y-o-y growth in revenue (257.6%) and Comedy experienced the highest y-o-y growth in attendance (246.2%).
  • Musical Theatre and Contemporary Music represented the two largest categories, generating 29.8% and 21.4% of revenue respectively, and 16.4% and 25.1% of attendance respectively of the overall live performance market in 2021. However, Contemporary Music’s market share was lower than pre-COVID, as there were limited national and international tours in 2021.

Photo: Because The Night, Malthouse Theatre, Photo Credit: Kristian Gehradte