Australian Live Sector Down In Revenue, Attendance

Attendance slipped by 0.9 percent to 18.4 million for sectors covered, including contemporary music, opera, ballet and dance, musical theatre, circus and physical theatre, classical music, and children and family events.

But it still exceeded the combined attendances at Australian Football League, National Rugby League, soccer, super rugby and cricket matches. Contemporary music remained the largest sector, representing 34 percent of revenue and 30.2 percent of attendance. But it also posted one of the biggest falls. There was a 21 percent decline in revenue from A$604.96 million ($449.7 million) to A$447.90 million ($333.1 million), and a 13 percent drop in attendance from 6.39 million to 5.55 million.

According to LPA, revenues from international tours in 2015 by Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Fleetwood Mac did not match those of 2014 visits by Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Eminem.

Last year also saw the demise of the country’s two largest festivals, Big Day Out and Soundwave. LPA also attributed the loss to weaker consumer confidence.

The year 2015 also saw a drop in ticket prices, from an average of A$91.57 in 2014 to A$87.29 in 2015. Click here to see the report.