Growth in ticket revenue and attendance for Australia’s live performance industry in 2024 was concentrated in a few key categories and states and territories.
Live Performance Australia’s 2024 Live Performance Attendance and Revenue Report shows total revenue was $3.4 billion, a 6.9% increase on the previous year. Ticketed attendance was 31.4 million which was a 4.6% increase over 2023.
These are the highest recorded attendance and revenue since the report commenced in 2004. The continued return of major international acts and tours, particularly in the Contemporary Music category, was the key driver of these results. Revenue growth also reflects increased ticket prices to offset rising operating costs. The average ticket price increase across the industry was 3.3%.
LPA Chief Executive Eric Lassen said: ‘While the overall results paint a positive story, growth was concentrated in a limited number of categories and states. These mixed outcomes highlight the evolving nature of audience behaviour and preferences, as well as challenging economic conditions overall.
‘Australians clearly value live performance but it’s also a highly discretionary spend for most households. Against a backdrop of much higher costs of bringing live performance to the stage, audiences are being more selective in how they spend their arts and entertainment dollar.
‘Categories including ballet and dance, theatre, music and multi-arts festivals, and opera, which are fundamental to a thriving and diverse Australian cultural landscape, saw drops in revenue and attendance.
‘That’s why smart policy interventions such as LPA’s plan for a live performance production incentive are so important to stimulate additional investment and creative activity across the breadth of our commercial and not-for-profit performing arts companies,’ Mr Lassen said.
For the first time, the report also tracks the share of revenue and attendance across metropolitan and regional markets in each state and territory. Tasmania had the highest regional share of revenue (50.5% of the state total) and the highest share of regional attendance (50.4% of the state total), followed by Queensland.
| Category | Revenue | % change from 2023 | Attendance | % change from 2023 |
| Ballet and Dance | $73,023,380 | 3.8% | 724,129 | (10.4%) |
| Children’s/Family | $77,148,571 | 13.8% | 1,896,269 | 10.9% |
| Circus and Physical Theatre^ | $24,913,125 | (63.5%) | 386,769 | (44.6%) |
| Classical Music | $103,494,720 | 14.5% | 1,391,026 | 7.6% |
| Comedy | $170,862,657 | (14.0%) | 2,436,661 | (15.4%) |
| Contemporary Music | $1,810,928,434 | 21.8% | 14,078,287 | 17.3% |
| Festivals (Contemporary Music)* | $331,291,692 | (6.7%) | 2,011,084 | (0.9%) |
| Festivals (Multi-category) | $84,094,423 | (9.0%) | 2,230,801 | (7.5%) |
| Musical Theatre | $531,587,740 | (2.0%) | 4,379,315 | 2.1% |
| Opera | $31,079,042 | (22.2%) | 267,493 | (16.8%) |
| Special Events | $9,964,821 | 215.5% | 262,156 | 34.6% |
| Theatre | $105,445,605 | (13.4%) | 1,385,989 | (3.6%) |
| Total | $3,353,834,211 | 6.9% | 31,449,979 | 4.6% |
^ Does not include data from Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia tour
*In 2024, several music festivals did not proceed (e.g. Splendour in the Grass, Groovin’ the Moo, Spilt Milk, and Harvest Rock) partially explaining the decline. However, the scale of the decline was also offset by the addition of a new data provider that tickets many music festivals.
The full report is available online, including state and territory and category analysis.
