Overall Category Highlights Click for more info
This section presents the largest categories by revenue and attendance as well as the categories which experienced the greatest movements in revenue and attendance. As with previous years, the Contemporary Music and Musical Theatre categories represent the two largest categories in the industry, generating 42.5% and 13.1% of revenue, respectively. Combined, these two categories account for 55.6% of the Live Performance Industry in terms of gross revenue and 46.6% of total attendance. The top 3 revenue categories combined, which also includes Circus and Physical Theatre, accounts for 65% of all industry revenue.
The most significant gains were experienced by the Festivals (Multi-Category) and Circus and Physical Theatre categories. The significant increases for Festivals (Multi-Category) can be largely explained by the first time inclusion of data for Adelaide Fringe and Perth’s Fringe World festivals. The increases in the Circus and Physical Theatre category were primarily due to the number and calibre of touring performances, including two Cirque Du Soleil productions (Ovo and Michael Jackson: The Immortal), Slava’s Snowshow and Empire.
On the other hand, the Children’s/Family category experienced some of the larger declines in both revenue and attendances. Although a number of children’s favourites returned in 2013, the How to Train Your Dragon Arena Spectacular which toured in 2012 was not staged in 2013, impacting revenue and attendance in this category. The Opera category also experienced significant declines in revenue and attendance, in part due to fewer performances by the AMPAG companies.
Opera Australia did not return to Brisbane in 2013, after performing there for the first time in 24 years in 2012. Additionally, Opera Queensland had fewer performances in 2013, further contributing to the large decline in that state. Opera Australia is also increasingly staging musicals as part of its regular season, and the revenue and attendance for these performances is reflected in the Musical Theatre category.