Last Year’s Performing Arts Revenue 130 Billion Won... 75.3% Decrease Compared to Previous Year

Top-ranked performance posters by genre last year, compiled by Interpark.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Donghyun] Due to the impact of COVID-19, ticket sales revenue for performances drastically declined last year. However, it was found that female audiences in their 20s to 40s played a supportive role during this period.

Interpark announced the '2020 Performance Market Review' based on ticket sales volume on the 24th. According to the report, the total ticket sales revenue for performances last year was 130.356 billion KRW, a 75.3% decrease compared to the same period the previous year (527.648 billion KRW).

By genre, concert sales revenue decreased the most, dropping by approximately 208.5 billion KRW compared to the previous year. During the same period, musicals decreased by about 137.2 billion KRW, and classical music and opera by 22.1 billion KRW. Plays and dance/traditional arts decreased by 20.3 billion KRW and 9.2 billion KRW respectively compared to the previous year.

With concerts, which along with musicals had dominated the performance market, becoming virtually impossible to hold due to COVID-19, their share of total performance sales revenue dropped significantly from 47% in 2019 to 30% in 2020. Conversely, musicals increased their share from 41% to 59% during the same period. Plays accounted for 7%, classical music and opera 3%, and dance/traditional arts 1% of sales revenue.

The total number of performances sold on Interpark last year was 4,310, a 67.6% decrease from 13,305 performances the previous year. By genre, concerts showed the highest decline rate with an 82.1% decrease compared to the previous year. Musicals also decreased by 76.7%, with 715 performances sold. In terms of the number of performances, the classical music and opera genre recorded the highest number with 1,794 performances despite the adverse effects of COVID-19.

Among the 4,310 performances sold on Interpark last year, 2,690 were held in Seoul, accounting for 62.4% of the total. Gyeonggi Province followed with 359 performances, making up 8.3%. Combining Seoul and Gyeonggi, they accounted for 70.7% of nationwide performances. Due to the impact of COVID-19, regional cultural events shrank further, intensifying the concentration in the Seoul-Gyeonggi area compared to 63.1% in 2019.

Among metropolitan cities, the number of performances ranked as follows: Daejeon (239), Daegu (215), Busan (199), Incheon (125), Gwangju (49), and Ulsan (20).

By age group, women accounted for 77% and men 23%, showing a higher proportion of female attendees. The percentage of female ticket buyers has gradually increased each year: 69% in 2016, 71% in 2017, 72% in 2018, and 72% in 2019. Among women, those in their 20s (28%), 30s (24%), and 40s (13%) showed the highest booking rates. Among men, those in their 30s (8%), 20s (7%), and 40s (5%) had the highest booking rates. Overall, women in their 20s and 30s made up 52% of all ticket buyers, forming the core customer base of the performance market.

Last year marked the first full year of untact (contactless) performances in the performance industry. While the completion of performing arts requires an audience and the presence of a live setting is an important element, efforts were made to present performances and reach audiences online.

Last year, 58 online performances were sold on Interpark, with concerts accounting for the largest share at 36 performances. Musicals accounted for 12, classical music for 8, and plays for 2. The sales revenue from these performances was 6.66 billion KRW, representing 5.1% of the total ticket sales revenue for performances last year.

Notably, even in online performances, there were many repeat viewers who watched the same performance multiple times. There were 2,787 viewers who watched the same performance two or more times. Among them, 2,549 watched twice, 205 watched three times, and 33 watched four times. The maximum number of times the same online performance was held was four.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.