AUSTRALIAN LIVE PERFORMANCE SECTOR HAS RECORD YEAR WITH $1.3 BILLION REVENUE FROM 17.2 MILLION PEOPLE ATTENDING SHOWS

Melbourne, Australia – August 1, 2011

Live Performance Australia [LPA], the peak body for Australia’s live performance industry and presenter of this evening’s Helpmann Awards®, today released its Ticket Attendance & Revenue Survey 2010, which shows record revenue growth for the sector.

Chief Executive of Live Performance Australia (LPA), Evelyn Richardson said overall, revenue grew 22.6% to $1.3 billion, while attendances grew 13.5% to 17.2 million paid and unpaid tickets.

At the release of the 2009 Ticketing Survey the LPA predicted an upswing in growth figures for the next year.

“The inclusion of Moshtix and the Darwin Entertainment Centre in this year’s Ticketing Survey gave a more comprehensive overview of industry trends, revenue and attendance. In particular, we now have a much better picture of Single Category Festivals (music festivals) ” said Richardson.

Similarly, Non-Classical Music events in smaller venues such as pubs and clubs are better represented this year.

Richardson said the stand-out sectors were Non-Classical (contemporary) Music up 43.1% for revenue and up 50.1% for attendance, Musical theatre up 13% for attendance and 6.3% for revenue, and Circus & Physical Theatre up 15.1% for revenue and 34.1% attendance.

“These sectors in particular benefited from strong international touring activity largely due to Australia’s buoyant economy.”

“Comedy, in its second year as a separate Survey category, performed consistently with attendance up by 3.1%, due to a combination of the strength of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and similar local events, and national tours by international comedians,” said Richardson.

The data from State breakdowns shows that New South Wales and Victoria combined capture 69.1% of revenue market share.

“The strong revenue and attendance figures reflect Australians’ appetite for live performance and in particular the festival and music sectors. We are looking forward to acknowledging the industry’s artistic excellence and diversity at tonight’s 11th annual Helpmann Awards®.”

About LPA www.liveperformance.com.au and www.helpmannawards.com.au

Live Performance Australia (LPA) is the peak body for Australia’s live performance industry, and the presenter/producer of the Helpmann Awards®. Established in 1917 and registered as an employers’ organisation under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009, LPA’s activities centre around three core areas:

• Workplace Relations
• Policy & Strategy
• Membership Services and Events

Our members work in the live performance sector across all artistic genres, including contemporary and classical music, musicals, theatre, comedy, dance, opera, circus and physical theatre. We represent producers, venues, promoters, performing arts companies, festivals and industry suppliers such as ticketing companies and technical specialists.

LPA also services the cinema and exhibition industries.

LPA is the trading name of the Australian Entertainment Industry Association (AEIA).