February 11, 2025 – JCA Performing Arts, a division of JCA that helps arts and cultural organizations leverage data-driven insights to grow audiences and revenue, recently released a new study on Trends in Audience Behavior: Elections, Shadow Audiences & Hidden Treasures.

JCA Performing Arts analyzed ticket sales and audience trends for performing arts organizations around the United States to see how the Fall 2024 season performed relative to previous Fall seasons.

Data for the study was gathered from 17 major organizations in different U.S. regions, including five theatre companies, five music organizations, two opera companies, three performing arts centers (PACs), and two dance companies. The analysis compares ticket sales and audience trends for Fall 2024 to past seasons of Fall 2019, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, and Fall 2023.

The study examines how much a major event (the U.S. election) affected ticket sales. Partnering with True Tickets, the study also takes a deeper look at the impact of individuals who attend shows with ticket buyers, known as shadow audiences.

Key findings include:

• The election season did not have a big effect on ticket sales. Ticket sales in Fall 2024 were consistent with those of the previous fall. Although election week in 2024 saw lower capacity sold compared to the same week in 2023, this is likely because the organizations being analyzed offered more performances in 2024.
• There are more people, buying less. While the number of bookers has grown since 2019, ticket sales have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. It’s great to see a larger audience, especially with new attendees, but we must recognize that patrons are purchasing less from our organizations, creating a gap that still needs to be addressed.
• New ticket buyers represent a high – and growing – proportion of audiences. New buyers consistently comprise over 60% of audiences, even as the overall number of audience members continues to grow.
• Income is still lower than pre-pandemic levels, largely because of inflation and fewer performances at higher capacities. Average Yield per ticket is lagging behind inflation, and fuller houses—due to fewer performances—typically mean that more lower-priced tickets are being sold.
• Revealed shadow audiences show great potential. In 2024, 6.4% of the revealed shadow audience—or people with who a digital ticket was shared thus revealing their identity—returned to purchase tickets, generating an average of $120,728 in revenue per organization from this group.

“This data presents a hidden treasure—our new audiences,” said Jamie Alexander, VP of Growth & Development for JCA and co-author of the study. “With the growth of new audience members, performing arts organizations have the opportunity to leverage these audiences and their data to craft re-engagement and acquisition campaigns that could fill in the gap we’ve seen in ticket sales and revenue since the pandemic.”

The full study can be found here.

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JCA (Jacobson Consulting Applications, Inc.) is the first and foremost independent consulting firm dedicated solely to the technical and operational needs of nonprofits. Our mission is to enhance the core information systems and processes at nonprofit organizations and arts and cultural venues. We elevate our clients’ information acumen, allowing them to make data-driven decisions to increase revenue, optimize operations, and build lasting relationships with their target audiences. The combination of deep expertise, the resources to deliver a complete solution, and the vision to innovate, makes JCA exceptional. Learn more at jcainc.com.

JCA Performing Arts, a division of JCA, helps performing arts organizations build data-backed intelligence and translate it into revenue-generating and audience-building strategies. Institutions served include dance companies, opera companies, performing arts centers, symphonies, and theatres. Learn more at jcainc.com/performing-arts.

True Tickets is a secure digital ticket delivery service for Tessitura member organizations. True Tickets amplifies the value of Tessitura with a deep and seamless integration to help organizations identify their shadow audience and stay in control of the entire ticket lifecycle, from sale to scan. Learn more at true-tickets.com.