TRG Arts

Sign up to the free Arts and Culture Benchmark to gain access to real-time audience and donor analytics, allowing you to track the impact of your audience and donor initiatives over time, and to compare your progress with peers.   

The Benchmark works via an automated connection between your own CRM and TRG’s system: once set up, there is no maintenance required (and no surveys to complete!).  

Benchmark members also become part of a cohort of more than 40 data-driven orchestras that meet quarterly with TRG Arts to review and discuss the latest trends in orchestra ticket sales, revenues, and giving. Learn more and sign up to be part of this exciting initiative.

These aggregated findings provide an indicative overview of patron behavior during the period July 2023 to June 2024, based on data from 42 medium and larger budget League member orchestras.

Within this national picture, every individual orchestra will have its own unique story to tell. In addition, revenue is only part of an organization’s financial landscape: for many orchestras, recent revenue increases do not compensate for inflation and other expense increases.

Ticket Buyer Demographics

1. The proportion of tickets sold to Asian, Black and Hispanic audience members in calendar year 2023 slightly surpassed that of 2019. For many orchestras, there is an opportunity to build a more racially diverse audience, by creating strong community partnerships, programming responsively, and by ensuring that the audience experience they offer is welcoming to all.
2. There has been a notable increase in the percentage of tickets bought by younger patrons. From 2019 to 2023, the proportion of tickets purchased by Millennial buyers surged from 9% to 25%, while those purchased by Gen X rose from 20% to 31%, nearly matching the percentage bought by Boomers.

Ticket Sales and Revenues

1. In the 2024 season ticket revenue rose significantly above pre-pandemic levels, following an acceleration throughout 2023. Overall ticket revenue was 26% higher in the 2024 season than it had been in 2019, with subscription revenue increasing by 28% and single ticket revenue by 24%.
2. The revenue increases we see are largely the result of existing subscribers spending more than previously on larger and more expensive fixed and “choose your own” subscription packages. Betweenthe 2019 and 2024 seasons, the number of tickets sold within subscription packages grew by 7%, and the average amount spent per subscription ticket rose by 20%.
3. The number of single tickets sold decreased by 2% between the 2019 and 2023 seasons.  Nonetheless, increased spend per ticket produced a 24% increase in single ticket revenues during this time period.
4. While every orchestra’s experience is different, there is no evidence of ticket buyers making their purchases closer to the concert date during the 2024 season than in the 2019 season.
5. The dynamic between affinity, loyalty and purchasing is changing.  While the proportion of new ticket buyers returning the following season decreased between the 2019 and 2023 seasons, the proportion returning after a three-year absence increased. Understanding that a buyer may consider themselves loyal despite no purchases over multiple seasons raises important questions about the definition of “lapsed” and how best to reactivate those in that category.

Individual Giving

1. Between the 2019 and 2024 seasons, revenue from individual donations fell by 11%. At the same time, the total number of gifts increased by 8%, indicating a broadening base of support for orchestras’ work.
2. The donor base is becoming younger. From 2019 to 2023, the percentage of gifts from Gen X patrons grew from 21% to 25%, and those made by Millennials grew from 9% to 14%. While this trend is encouraging, it needs to accelerate in order to fully compensate for the decline in income from larger gifts made by donors aged 79 and above.

Results are representative of the 42 mainly medium and large budget League member orchestras participating in the TRG Arts & Culture Benchmark as of July 2024.

Orchestras are welcome and encouraged to join the Arts & Culture Benchmark without charge at any time.

Learn More

Watch an on-demand recording of TRG’s Eric Nelson discussing the July 2024 Orchestra Report with orchestras participating in the Arts & Culture Benchmark.

Explore a curated selection of relevant articles, webinars and podcasts about audience growth and audience diversification in orchestras, by visiting the League resource centers.

League Insights

The aggregated results presented below provide an indicative overview of patron behavior in calendar year 2023, based on data from 42 medium and larger budget League member orchestras. Within this national picture, every individual orchestra will have its own unique story to tell.

1. The proportion of tickets sold to Asian, Black and Hispanic audience members in 2023 only slightly surpassed that of 2019. For many orchestras, there is an opportunity to build a more racially diverse audience, by creating strong community partnerships, programming responsively, and by ensuring that the audience experience they offer is welcoming to all.
2. Ticket revenue has now risen significantly above pre-pandemic levels, following an acceleration during 2023. Offsetting ongoing concerns about rising expenses, ticket revenue was 32% higher in 2023 than it had been in 2019.
3. This revenue increase is largely attributable to ticket buyers spending more per ticket: while revenue increased by 32% between 2019 and 2023, paid attendance increased by only 2%.
4. Holiday programming is a more significant revenue driver than ever, post pandemic. Holiday concert revenue grew by a remarkable 52% between 2021 and 2023, with growth accelerating each year. Notably, the year-round trend towards higher spend per ticket is particularly accentuated during the Holiday season.
5. While every orchestra’s experience is different, there is no evidence of ticket buyers making their purchases closer to the concert date in 2023 than in 2019.
6. In 2023, new ticket buyers made up 40% of all sales, compared to 36% in 2019. This presents a significant opportunity for many orchestras to cultivate loyalty within this new audience.
7. The percentage of ticket buyers returning after a three-year absence increased from 2% in 2019 to 8% in 2023. Orchestras’ ability to reactivate lapsed audiences and turn them into more regular purchasers is a significant opportunity.
8. As the trend towards single-ticket purchasing gains momentum, there has been a notable increase in the percentage of tickets bought by younger patrons. Between 2019 and 2023, the proportion of tickets purchased by Millennial buyers surged from 9% to 25%, while those purchased by Gen X rose from 20% to 31%, nearly matching the percentage bought by Boomers.
9. Between 2019 and 2023 individual donation revenue fell by 23%. This decline was primarily driven by a drop in the proportion of larger gifts from donors aged 79 and above, which decreased from 23% to 16% of all gifts.
10. The donor base is growing and becoming younger. Despite the decline in donation revenue the total number of gifts increased by 8%, indicating a broadening base of support for orchestras’ work. The percentage of gifts from Gen X patrons grew from 21% to 25%, and those made by Millennials grew from 9% to 14%.

Results are representative of the 42 mainly medium and large budget League member orchestras participating in the TRG Arts & Culture Benchmark as of December 2023.

Orchestras are welcome and encouraged to join the Arts & Culture Benchmark at any time.

Learn More

Watch an on-demand recording of TRG’s Eric Nelson and the League’s Karen Yair discussing the March 2024 Orchestra Report with orchestras participating in the Arts & Culture Benchmark.

Explore a curated selection of relevant articles, webinars and podcasts about audience growth and audience diversification in orchestras, by visiting the League resource centers.

League Insights

The aggregated results presented below provide an indicative overview of patron behavior based on data from 40+ orchestras; every individual orchestra will have its own unique story to tell.

1. While rising expenses continue to concern many orchestras, ticket revenue has now caught up to pre-pandemic levels. Following a gradual recovery since 2021, orchestra ticket revenue was 1% higher in Jan-June 2023 than in Jan-June 2019.
2. Ticket buyers are spending more on average per ticket, although fewer tickets are being sold overall.
3. Overall, new audience members now account for 62% of orchestra ticket buyers, compared to 50% in 2019.  Many orchestras have an opportunity to build loyalty within a fresh audience, both from these new visitors and from lapsed ticket buyers returning to concerts for the first time since the pandemic.
4. The percentage of tickets purchased by younger patrons, as well as those with lower incomes and levels of educational attainment, has increased as the trend towards single ticket purchasing has gathered pace. However, while Gen X and Millennial audiences now account for a greater percentage of ticket purchases than they did before the pandemic, older ticket buyers are leaving faster, resulting in a net loss.
5. The proportion of tickets sold to Asian and Hispanic audience members was only slightly higher in 2022 than in 2019, and the proportion of tickets sold to Black audience members did not increase at all.  For many orchestras, there is an opportunity to build a more racially diverse audience, by building strong community partnerships, programming responsively, and creating a welcoming audience experience.
6. Individual donation revenue decreased by 4% between 2019 and 2023, and the demographic diversity of individual donors has remained static.  However, many orchestras are seeing a broadening base of community support, with more individuals making donations so far in 2023 than in 2019, albeit at a lower level.  Orchestras have an opportunity to address the individual donor revenue gap by furthering the engagement of their newly acquired donors, and by listening and responding to the interests of a diverse range of new prospects in their own communities.

Results are representative only of the 40+ (mainly medium and large budget) League member orchestras currently participating in the TRG Arts & Culture Benchmark.

Orchestras are welcome and encouraged to join the Arts & Culture Benchmark at any time.

Learn More

Watch an on-demand recording of TRG’s Eric Nelson discussing the September 2023 Orchestra Report with orchestras participating in the Arts & Culture Benchmark.

Explore a curated selection of relevant articles, webinars and podcasts about audience growth and audience diversification in orchestras, by visiting the League resource centers.

“Orchestras in Recovery: Ticket Sales and Donation Trends, 2019-2021” captures the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on orchestra audiences, highlighting data from 27, mostly larger-budget, U.S. orchestras that participated in the TRG-Arts COVID-19 International Sector Benchmark, between Spring 2020 and Fall 2021.

This report is part of the League’s commitment to sharing data-driven analyses of the key issues shaping the work of orchestras today. Discover the latest findings from our audience data partnerships on our Data Partnerships page.