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
Chief Executive
Live Performance Australia
May 2023