TRG Arts Reveals New Analysis Exploring Performing Arts Box Office Data One Year After Shutdown

New box office data from the 12 months since March 16, 2020 when performing arts organizations shut down show the catastrophic impact of the pandemic in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland. In analysis released today, international arts management consultants TRG Arts and UK arts data specialists Purple Seven report that despite periods of live public performances during the year in some regions and a rapid growth in ticketed digital performances, in the U.S. year-over-year ticket sales were down 86.1% and box office revenue was down 88.8%. Across the international study group, year-over-year ticket sales fell 88.5% and box office revenue was down 89%.

The data from 349 performing arts organizations (94 in the U.S., 12 in Canada, 226 in the U.K., and 17 from the Republic of Ireland) come from the COVID-19 Sector Benchmark, an initiative led by TRG Arts and Purple Seven, which has grown into the largest global arts and cultural consumer dataset in the industry. It captures near real-time data from box office feeds of all scales. The majority of the sample are theaters, but there is also a representation of arts centers and orchestras.

"Over the past 12 months performing arts organizations have reacted and adapted to unprecedented circumstances at incredible speed," said TRG Chief Executive Officer Jill Robinson. "This time has shown us that digital channels can play a role in our quest for patron engagement. However, to be sustained by a blend of live and digital channels in the future, we must learn from the innovative organizations that have deepened patron relationships and developed meaningful revenue from their on-line audiences in the last year."

The COVID-19 Sector Benchmark tracks sales on a daily basis from the box offices of arts organizations. These could be for live in-person performances, live streaming or access to on-demand content.

"Over the past year many tickets have been sold to performances that were then postponed or cancelled," explained Purple Seven Managing Director David Brownlee. "This means that the true impact of COVID-19 has been even worse than the stark figures we are reporting today. One bright spot we noted in the data was a noticeable uplift in sales in the U.K. in November and December 2020. Sadly, many of these sales would have been for performances that were then postponed or cancelled due to local and then national lockdowns, but it does highlight that there is demand from the public to return to live performances."

TRG Arts and Purple Seven have published a number of studies on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and culture sector:

· February 2021, "COVID-19 and Philanthropy - Giving in 2020" https://go.trgarts.com/BenchmarkInsights_Jan2021.

· November 2020, "Ticket Sales & Philanthropy" https://trgarts.com/blog/benchmark-insights-nov-2020.html

· October 2020, "Who is Giving?" https://go.trgarts.com/InsightReport_Oct20

· September 2020, "COVID-19 and the Performing Arts - Six Months After Closure" https://trgarts.com/blog/insights-report-sep-2020.html

· August 2020, "Who is booking now? Changes in ticket buyer demographics post COVID-19" https://go.trgarts.com/InsightReport_Aug20

· June 2020, "Individual Donations - Is New Philanthropic Income Replacing Lost Ticket Income?" https://go.trgarts.com/InsightReport_July20

· May 2020, "Tracking the Initial Impact of COVID-19 on the Performing Arts in the UK and North America" https://go.trgarts.com/InsightReportMay2020

TRG Arts offers a range of free resources for cultural and arts professionals throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the E.U. to ensure the field of arts and culture thrives now and after the COVID-19 crisis:

· TRG 30, a bi-weekly 30-minute webinar series of crisis counsel and best practices that attracts hundreds of executives globally each week: https://go.trgarts.com/TRG30.

· TRG blog for the latest on COVID-19 related topics: https://go.trgarts.com/Blog

About the COVID-19 Benchmark Dashboard

Purple Seven and TRG Arts continue to offer free access to the free COVID-19 Benchmark Dashboard to organizations in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland. To register visit https://go.trgarts.com/benchmark.

Expansion of the COVID-19 Benchmark Dashboard is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to SMU DataArts, a national center for arts research and TRG Arts' long-time partner in advancing the arts and culture sector.

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