New TRG Arts Study Reveals Impact of COVID-19 on the Performing Arts in the First Six months of Venue Closures in North America and the U.K.

Ticket Sales Worsen, But Spring 2021 And Beyond Look Brighter If Organizations Build On Strong Long-Term Advance Sales

Colorado Springs, CO—September 30, 2020—The impact of COVID-19 on ticket sales for the performing arts not only continues, unsurprisingly, but has worsened according to a new study released by international arts management consultants TRG Arts and U.K. arts data specialists Purple Seven. The September COVID-19 Sector Benchmark Insight Report reveals that in the six months since venue closures, in North America ticket revenues have fallen by 84% and in the U.K. by 91% compared to the same period in 2019. Additionally, despite strong performance at the start of the pandemic, funds raised from individual giving have declined by 24% in North America and by 63% in the U.K. However, the picture for March 2021 and beyond look brighter, but this will only remain the case if organizations can confidently invest in marketing activities to build on strong long-term advance sales.

The September COVID-19 Sector Benchmark Insight Report is the fourth of in a series of studies examining near real-time data from box office feeds of both commercial and not-for-profit venues of all scales in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. It is based on data gathered from 288 organizations (67 in the U.S., 9 in Canada and 212 in the U.K).

Among the study highlights:
In North America:
•   In the period from March 16 to September 15, 2020, ticket sales fell 83% and box office income fell 84% compared to the same period in 2019.
•   Across the six-month period the trend has worsened. Comparative sales in August and September were only a third of what was achieved in March and April.  
•   While the number of gifts made has risen, individual giving income has fallen by almost a quarter.
•   The largest comparative decreases are in June, July and August.
•   Compared to last year, advance tickets are 67% and revenues 89% of 2019 levels for the period from December 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021. Strong long-term advances are being fuelled by the rescheduling of shows from 2020 to 2021.

In the UK:  
•   In the period from March 16 to September 15, 2020, ticket sales fell 92% and box office income fell 91% compared to the same period in 2019.
•   Comparative sales increased throughout July and to the middle of August. This initial recovery has not been sustained and recent weeks sales reflect the average for the period.
•   The number of gifts given has fallen by 46% and cumulative philanthropic revenue has reduced by 63%, principally due to a fall in gifts of over £10,000.
•   Compared to last year, advance tickets are 75% and revenues 85% of 2019 levels for the period from December 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021. Strong long-term advances are being fuelled by the rescheduling of shows from 2020 to 2021.

“While it is heartening to see encouraging advances for the spring and summer, unless daily sales rapidly return to historic levels the positive gap will diminish,” said Purple Seven CEO Stuart Nicolle. “If venues can open without social distancing by that point and cultural organizations start immediately investing in marketing these shows, there is a chance that the bounce back could be remarkably swift. However, with organizations making understandably risk averse marketing investment decisions due to continued uncertainty regarding their ability to open—with or without social distancing measures—long-term advances are increasingly likely to look less healthy.”

“In the coming weeks TRG Arts and Purple Seven will follow up on these findings with examples of organizations that are bucking the trend and delivering significantly greater tickets sales or philanthropic revenue than their peers,” said TRG Chief Executive Officer Jill Robinson. “From our analysis of this diverse group of ‘overperforming’ organizations, there is a clear and unsurprising similarity: they are all either proactively fundraising or promoting ticketed events, both digital and live, that they have on sale.”

The full September COVID-19 Sector Benchmark Insight Report is available at https://go.trgarts.com/InsightReport_Sep20. TRG Arts and Purple Seven will publish further studies on a monthly basis while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the arts and culture sector. Previous COVID-19 Sector Benchmark Insight Reports available are:
•   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 U.K. 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 EU to ensure the field of arts and culture thrives now and after the COVID-19 crisis:
•   TRG 30, a 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.

About TRG Arts
TRG Arts (The Results Group for the Arts) is an international, data-driven change agency consulting with arts and cultural executive leaders, marketers and fundraisers on a patron loyalty-based approach to increasing sustainable revenue. Experts in the arts sector for 25 years, TRG Arts has earned a reputation unsurpassed for achieving results and building successful business models for non-profit and commercial arts and cultural organizations. TRG Arts is an industry pioneer in areas including audience loyalty development, membership and the subscription model, and dynamic pricing. TRG Arts believes in the transformative power of arts and culture, and that positive, profound change in the business model of arts organizations can lead to artistic innovation and the ability to inspire entire communities. Visit www.trgarts.com.

About Purple Seven
Purple Seven has been working in the UK Arts sector for 16 years, analyzing audience behavior across hundreds of organizations. Purple Seven’s extensive knowledge and experience of audience trends allows them to offer an industry context to audience data that helps cultural organizations focus on the important, not just the interesting. Visit https://purplesevenanalytics.com/

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