Australian concert business hits record highs

Live music attendance and revenue reached record highs in Australia last year amid significant ticket price increases, according to a new study.

Live Performance Australia’s (LPA) 2023 Ticket Attendance and Revenue report shows that contemporary music generated A$1.5 billion (€923 million) in revenue from over 14 million attendees, while music festivals generated revenue of $355m (€218m).

Victoria, NSW and Queensland generated the most revenue and attendance for contemporary music festivals – almost 77% of overall revenue, and 75% of overall attendance.

The average ticket price for concerts jumped 47% to $128.21, up from $87.01 the previous year, reflecting hikes in post-pandemic production and touring costs and increased artist fees. The average ticket price for contemporary music festivals rose by 12.4% to $190.54.

“Australians love their live music. Despite rising cost of living pressures during 2023, they were prepared to invest in memorable live music experiences with their favourite Australian and international artists,” says LPA CEO Evelyn Richardson.

“There’s always a degree of variability in the yearly results for contemporary music depending on artist touring schedules. Australia was part of a global trend which saw a resurgence in international touring activity during 2023, and a shift towards bigger stadium-level concerts by some headline artists.”

However, Richardson, who is stepping down from her role at the end of the year, references the struggles faced by Australia’s beleaguered festival sector, which was left in disarray following a flurry of cancellations – and stresses the need for support from the authorities.

“The pausing or cancellation of festivals this year shows some parts of our industry are still dealing with very challenging business conditions”

“While attendance and revenue peaked in 2023, the pausing or cancellation of festivals this year shows some parts of our industry are still dealing with very challenging business conditions due to higher operating costs, changing audience preferences and ongoing cost of living pressures,” she says.

“Governments need to look closely at how they can reduce some of these impacts, particularly regulatory, licensing and venue costs, in the interests of a strong live music industry. They also need to focus their support in areas that will make a real difference to enabling audiences to discover more of our homegrown talent.

“That said, live music by Australian and international artists continues to excite, entertain and engage audiences across all ages and genres, and also makes a significant direct and indirect economic contribution, including driving activity for our hospitality, tourism and transport sectors.”

Meanwhile, the LPA has criticised ABC TV’s Four Corners‘ investigation into Live Nation’s role in the Australian music landscape. Airing yesterday (14 October), the Music for Sale documentary claimed the vertical integration model of owning venues, booking agents, ticketing and promoting businesses was enabling the company to control the concert industry at the expense of local players – an accusation vigorously contested by the firm.

The LPA says it was not approached for comment or data for the programme, “which could have led to a more informed story”.

“There’s no doubt some parts of the music industry are under real pressure, but to blame all of those problems on a single company is nonsensical and counter-productive to addressing the real issues at stake,” adds Richardson. “Many of the challenges facing the Australian industry are being experienced globally.

“LPA’s own analysis of ticket attendance and revenue for contemporary music concerts and festivals shows no single promoter had a dominant market share.”

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