Introduction

Live Performance Australia (LPA) takes great pleasure in presenting our Ticket Attendance and Revenue Report for 2018 ("Report").

This is our 15th annual Report. It is the principal source of reliable industry statistics for the Australian live performance industry, and represents the most comprehensive information on annual ticket sales for Australian live performance events available. As the leading source for industry results and trends, the Report is drawn upon extensively by the industry, government, media and business.

The 2018 Report shows that the live performance industry continues to contribute significantly to our economy and cultural ecology. In 2018, over 26 million tickets were issued to live performance events, generating total ticket sales revenue of almost $2.2 billion. That’s more than the combined attendances at Australian Football, Rugby League, Cricket, Soccer, Basketball, Rugby Union, Tennis, Netball and Baseball (Australian Sporting Attendances 2018, Stadiums Australia).

The live performance industry had a record-breaking year in 2018. Between 2017 and 2018, ticket sales revenue increased by 14.8% and attendance increased by 14.1%. Conversely, the different genre categories experienced varying shifts in growth and decline. This trend is consistent with previous years and is primarily due to the impact of major tours or events, particularly international tours, in the market in any given year.

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.

The development of LPA’s research reports, integral to promoting the value and importance of our industry, is made possible by the provision of data by our data participants, including ticketing companies, self-ticketing venues, event promoters and the Australia Council for the Arts on behalf of the Major Performing Arts companies. The generous cooperation and effort of all data participants is, as always, greatly appreciated.

We also thank our 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

November 2019

Download the Report

LPA Key Findings Report 2018 (PDF) LPA Ticket Attendance and Revenue Report 2018 (PDF)

Photo: Chinese New Year Concert, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Raschella

Ticket Revenue and Attendance Overview

Industry growth

In 2018 (calendar year), the Australian live performance industry generated total ticket sales revenue of almost $2.2b, an increase of 14.8% from 2017, when ticket sales totalled $1.88b. This increase in revenue was a result of a 4.7% increase in the total number of paid tickets in 2018, coupled with an increase in the average ticket price by 9.3% from $90.59 to $99.03.
Approximately 26.3m tickets were issued in 2018, representing an increase of 14.1% from 2017, when 23.0m tickets were issued. Of 26.3m total tickets, the number of paid tickets issued was 21.8m (an increase from 20.8m tickets sold in 2017). The remaining 4.4m tickets issued in 2018 were complimentary, sponsor allocated and zero priced tickets.
In 2018, the number of tickets issued, revenue generated and the average ticket price ($99.03) for live performance events was the highest recorded since LPA began publishing data in 2004. This was primarily driven by major international tours in the Contemporary Music category during the period, including Pink, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars; musicals such as The Book of Mormon, Aladdin and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and by festivals such as Splendour in the Grass and Adelaide Fringe.

Drivers of growth

New South Wales (NSW) generated the highest share of national live performance revenue (34.9%) and attendance (31.3%) in 2018, with Victoria being the second largest contributor in revenue (32.3%) and in attendance (30.5%). Combined, NSW and Victoria generated approximately 67.2% of Australia’s live performance revenue and 61.8% of attendance in 2018.
NSW experienced the greatest growth in revenue (22.4%), closely followed by Queensland (20.2%). The highest growth in attendance was witnessed in Tasmania (67.1%), followed by Queensland (20.1%) and NSW (19.4%).
Contemporary Music remains the largest category in the industry in 2018, representing a market share of 50.5% in revenue and 38.4% in attendance.
Revenue growth in Special Events (337.9%), Comedy (72.5%), Contemporary Music (32.2%) and Festivals (Multi-Category) (26.2%) categories has driven growth in the live performance industry in 2018 as compared to 2017. This growth was partially offset by revenue declines in Circus and Physical Theatre (79.9%) and Musical Theatre (4.0%).

Photo: Giselle, The Australian Ballet, Jeff Busby

Overall Trends

Key Revenue Insights

Total industry revenue more than doubled over the period 2008 to 2018. Revenue has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4% over the same period.
In 2018, overall industry revenue has grown year-over-year (y-o-y) by 14.8%.
In 2018, the Special Events category experienced the highest y-o-y increase (337.9%) among all the categories, followed by Comedy (72.5%).
New South Wales witnessed the highest y-o-y growth in revenue among all the states by 22.4% ($753.7m) in 2018.

Key Attendance Insights

Total attendance has increased by 66.0% from 15.8m in 2008 to 26.3m in 2018.
Attendance has grown at a CAGR of 5.2% over the period 2008 to 2018.
In 2018, the y-o-y attendance growth recorded was 14.1%.
In 2018, Comedy witnessed the highest y-o-y increase in attendance (98.5%) among all the categories. Among all the states and territories, Tasmania experienced the highest y-o-y growth in attendance (67.1%).

Key Average Ticket Price Insights

The average ticket price increased by 29.2%, from $76.60 in 2008 to $99.03 in 2018.
The average ticket price has grown at a CAGR of 2.6% over the period 2008 to 2018.
Average ticket price increased by 9.3% y-o-y in 2018, from $90.59 in 2017 to $99.03 in 2018, which is the highest recorded average ticket price.
The growth in average ticket price was primarily driven by a surge in the average ticket price in Special Events ($152.70, 202.8% y-o-y growth) and Comedy ($114.20, 83.3% y-o-y growth) categories.

Total Revenue and Attendance

Photo: Baba Yaga, A Windmill Theatre Company and Imaginate production, Rob McDougall

Close Table

Total Revenue, Attendance and Average Ticket Price (2004—2016)

	Revenue ($)	Growth (%)	Total Attendance*	Growth (%)	Average Ticket Price ($)**	Growth (%)
2004	689599070.00	0.00	13477231.00	0.00	55.13	0.00
2005	834337206.00	21.00	15808790.00	17.30	60.62	10.00
2006	1158064526.00	38.80	19835756.00	25.50	64.08	5.70
2007	1228658664.00	6.10	20887365.00	5.30	66.03	3.10
2008	1061273304.00	-13.60	15823705.00	-24.20	76.60	16.00
2009	1083329949.00	2.10	15196773.00	-4.00	80.57	5.20
2010	1327805816.00	22.60	17241139.00	13.50	86.43	7.30
2011	1309187150.00	-1.40	17345720.00	0.60	85.99	-0.50
2012	1204883551.00	-8.00	16273730.00	-6.20	85.46	-0.60
2013	1478976893.00	22.70	17926626.00	10.20	92.16	7.80
2014	1507963952.00	2.00	18536434.00	3.40	91.57	-0.60
2015	1413208686.00	-6.30	18626457.00	0.50	86.34	-5.70
2016	1430399693.00	1.20	18782588.00	0.80	83.72	-3.00
2017	1884141882.00	31.70	23027550.00	22.60	90.59	8.20
2018	2162425399.00	14.80	26268788.00	14.10	99.03	9.30

*Based on both paid and unpaid tickets

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