Live Performance worth $1.2 billion

Live Performance Australia (LPA), the peak body for Australia’s live entertainment and the performing arts industry has announced survey findings that show the industry is worth a record $1.2 billion, confirming that in the digital age, Australians still love to go out and see a great live show.

Australia’s live performance industry generated a record $1.2 billion in revenue during 2007 with ticket sales reaching the equivalent of almost every Australian attending one live performance event during the year.

LPA’s Ticket Attendance and Revenue Survey 2006 and 2007 showed a 38.8% increase in revenue during 2006, and a further 6.1% increase during 2007 when it reached $1.228 billion.

Ticket sales grew by 25.5% during 2006 to 19,835,756, with further growth of 5.3% during 2007 with over 20 million tickets sold to live performance events.

The largest revenue-generating categories were contemporary music (40%); musical theatre (19%); theatre (10%); and, special events (10%). These four categories accounted for 79% of the total revenue from live performance during 2007.

LPA Chief Executive Evelyn Richardson, said the growth in revenue and ticket sales reflected the strength and dynamic nature of the live performance industry in Australia, stating “spending by Australians on live performance has grown year on year, compared to declines in spending on recorded music.

“The growth in revenue and ticket sales in Australia is comparable to trends in other major territories around the world, highlighting the fact that Australia has a world-class live performance industry. This is evidenced by the success of individual performers and touring shows, for example Dirty Dancing and Priscilla moving to the West End and local hits such as Keating, Billy Elliott, Phantom of the Opera, The Rocky Horror Show and Wicked.”

“The strength of the music sector looks set to continue with recent record breaking ticket sales for concerts such as Pink, Kings of Leon and Andre Rieu”.

The real value of the industry is even larger than revealed by the survey, which did not capture all ticketed performances, such as regional venues and smaller, self-ticketing venues and festivals.

LPA President Andrew Kay said the current economic outlook would create challenges for the industry, adding “we know from experience that our industry is cyclical and the global downturn will have an effect on Australia. However, these are not new challenges for our industry.

“We are looking at ways to sustain our activity across the live performance industry.

“This means finding new and innovative ways to deliver compelling live performance events that will keep attracting audiences, as well as working closely with governments at every level to ensure the ongoing vitality of the live performance industry.

“The results from our surveys prove that Australians are passionate supporters of live performance and that the industry makes a significant economic contribution.

Richardson added that, “in the next year, we will deliver an Emerging Producers Program to support up-and-coming producers as well as looking at ways to create new Australian work for the commercial sector for local audiences and export.

“We will also be focused on ensuring the investment environment supports the growth of the live performance industry, which as our survey results show, is a fundamental part of Australia’s economic and cultural life.”

For more information go to www.liveperformance.com.au