Broadway has another Billion Dollar Year

Actually, only a couple of theatres are on Broadway itself.

The Broadway League released end-of-season statistics for the 2009 – 2010 season, which began May 25, 2009 and ended May 23, 2010. For the 2009 – 2010 season, Broadway shows yielded $1.02 billion in grosses, and total attendances reached 11.89 million.

Grosses are up 1.5% from last season's absolute numbers (which do not include Young Frankenstein*). Attendance is down 3.0% from the 2008 – 2009 season, also using absolute numbers.

Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League, said, “Using the numbers we know, grosses were up 1.5% over last season. However, if we factor in estimated figures for Young Frankenstein which ran 32 weeks in 2008 – 2009, it could be down slightly this season – perhaps as much as 1.0% in grosses. In any case, it seems that even in this current economic climate, the numbers are strong thanks to the vibrancy of this season's offerings.“

The League recently studied the demographics of theatre-goers and found that, for Broadway, international visitors accounted for one in five admissions. Tourists in general accounted for a whopping 63% of Broadway admissions, though that could be a misleading statistic since under their parameters I would be considered a tourist, not the Broadway regular I consider myself.

The report also shows that the use of the Internet for the purchase of tickets has grown by 471% since the 1999-2000 season (from 7% to 40%). Online purchase was the most popular method of ticket buying for a fifth year in row.

During the 2009-2010 season, 39 shows opened (11 new musicals, 14 new plays, 6 musical revivals, and 8 play revivals).

The total for 2009-10 was $1.02 billion vs. $1.00 billion in 2008-9.

The more important figure was the gross attendance and that was 11.89 million in the last year, vs. 12.25 million the year before, representing a decline.

Broadway audience is aging
The average age of the Broadway theatregoer was 42.2 years old, slightly older than last season, while those aged from 25-34accounted for 16% of all tickets sold, higher than it has been since the 1999-2000 season. But younger audiences generally seem to prefer the more edgy (and cheaper) offerings of off-Broadway and off-off Broadway houses.
 
Broadway theatregoers were a very well educated and affluent group. In addition to an annual reported income of $195,700, 73% of theatregoers over the age of 25 had completed college and 36% had earned a graduate degree. 

“Broadway is a national pastime! As there is more of a choice for the theatregoer than ever before, it is exciting to report that we are seeing a wider audience for Broadway. Our shows, and our audience, are more diverse than ever,” continued Charlotte St. Martin. “With our goal to make Broadway a stronger international brand, we do believe that the increased attendance from foreign visitors to New York City reflects that these efforts are working. A stronger international brand will not only be an asset for Broadway’s business, but for the New York City economy as well.”

*Estimates for Young Frankenstein, which played 32 weeks during the 2008-09 season are not included here (previews began 10/11/07, closed 1/4/09 ) The producers refused to cooperate with the Broadway League and insisted on keeping their numbers to themselves.

NEA Webcast on How Art Works in the US Economy

The National Endowment for the Arts Presents
a Live Webcast of its
Cultural Workforce Forum on
Friday, November 20, 2009



Debate has raged for decades on how art and culture contributes to America's economy. Some of us, myself included, think the emphasis on the economic impact of the arts misses its real role in society, but that is an argument for another day.

In our WalMart economy, run by the bean counters, everything of importance is reduced to a commodity in the United States, and that is just the way it is. Once again we go through the exercise of being forced to consider the arts from an economic standpoint, despite the fact that the same arguments can be made by the Army, the makers of SUV's and even the chemicals that go into Twinkies.

So it comes as no surprise that the National Endowment for the Arts has scheduled a conference that is all about the arts and the economy. One can only hope that something new, something compelling might be dredged up. Failing that, perhaps the organizers can get Congress to listen. Maybe we would be better off simply hiring lobbyists. Still, one can hope for that breakthrough moment at the conference.

Though that is unlikely as no real artists will take part in the discussion.

"You can't expect the government to give money to artists. Our trillions are needed to support the bankers, GM executives, mortgage derivative scam artists and fraudulent insurance company executives."
From the NEA press announcement, we find that on Friday, November 20, 2009, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will present a live webcast on www.arts.gov of a forum about America's artists and other cultural workers who are part of this country's real economy. Academics, foundation professionals, and service organization representatives will come together to discuss improving the collection and reporting of statistics about arts and cultural workers, and to develop future research agendas and approaches.

9:00 a.m.
Opening Remarks and introductions
Joan Shigekawa, NEA Senior Deputy Chairman and Sunil Iyengar, NEA Director of Research & Analysis


9:30
Panel One: What We Know About Artists and How We Know It
NEA Research on Artists in the Workforce
Tom Bradshaw, NEA Research Officer
Artist Labor Markets
Greg Wassall, associate professor, Department of Economics, Northeastern University
Artist Careers
Joan Jeffri, director, Research Center for Arts and Culture, Teachers College, Columbia University
Artist Research: Union Perspectives
David Cohen, executive director, Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO


11:00
Panel Two: Putting the Research to Work
Cultural Vitality: Investing in Creativity
Maria Rosario Jackson, senior research associate, The Urban Institute
Artists and the Economic Recession
Judilee Reed, executive director, Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC)
Teaching Artists Research Project
Nick Rabkin, Teaching Artists Research Project, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago
Strategic National Arts Alumni Project
Steven Tepper, associate director, the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy, Vanderbilt University


1:20
Panel Three: Widening the Lens to Capture Other Cultural Workers
Artists in the Greater Cultural Economy
Ann Markusen, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
Creative Class: Who's in, Who's out?
Tom Bradshaw, NEA Research Officer
American Community Survey: An Emerging Data Set
Jennifer Day, assistant division chief, Employment Characteristics of the Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, United States Census Bureau


2:20
Comments and questions from panel participants


3:00
Discussion: Summary and Recommendations for Future Research
Moderated by Sunil Iyengar and Tom Bradshaw
Lead discussants: Holly Sidford, president, Helicon Collaborative and Paul DiMaggio, professor, Department of Sociology, Princeton University


4:30
Adjournment


In addition to the above presenters, the following respondents will participate in the NEA Cultural Workforce Forum:

Randy Cohen, vice president of local arts advancement, Americans for the Arts

Deirdre Gaquin, consultant

Angela Han, director of research, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies

Ruby Lerner, president, Creative Capital Foundation

Judilee Reed, executive director, Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC)

Carrie Sandahl, associate professor, Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago

Mary Jo Waits, director, Social, Economic & Workforce Programs Division, National Governors Association

An archive of the event will be available on www.arts.gov the week following the forum.